Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
environmental purchaser to acquire water from willing sellers at the best
possible price. This has the advantage of taking water from the lowest value
uses, which will be the first to sell, and causes no negative impacts on the
higher value uses.
To make the fledging water market work it is necessary to clarify the
access rights issue so people know what they are buying and selling. Ideally,
we need rights that are consistent across the States so they can be traded
across the entire Murray-Darling Basin. At present there are some 20 differ-
ent water products on the market, all with differing security of supply, and
some exist for set periods while others are in perpetuity. We will need market
rules that recognise environmental and hydraulic constraints on trade.
There is considerable resistance from some irrigators, especially those
producing lower returns for their water. The concern is that water barons
will buy up available water and abandon peasant farmers; that water will
leave districts and towns; and that infrastructure will be stranded and col-
lapse. There is also a worry that if Government enters the market for the
environment the price of water may rise for farmers. These are all valid com-
munity concerns that must be addressed by Government.
One approach to recovering the water is a tender approach where we ask
irrigators how much of their water allocation they are prepared to sell, at
what price. The Governments can then draw the line at the amount of water
they can acquire for the money available, and we get it back without the tax-
payers being held to ransom.
The emerging urban water agenda
The 2003 COAG National Water Initiative identified the emerging urban
challenges but so far little detail is available. There are desirable elements in
the urban reform agenda, and I will use Melbourne as a case study, but the
experiences are similar in several of our major cities.
Melbourne is a city of around 3.5 million people, projected to increase by
a further million people over the next 30 years. Melbourne currently uses
480 GL of water, but with the increased population the demand will increase
to 659 GL. The current estimate of the reliable yield from the present catch-
ments is 566 GL. The squeeze will become greater if climate change esti-
mates of a reduction of about 5 per cent in rainfall by 2020 are fulfilled.
Governments have responded by planning for a 15 per cent reduction in
water use per head through demand management strategies and an increase
in recycling of 20 per cent, both to be achieved by 2010.
