SAC 2a Unit 3: Regional resources AOS 1: Use and management of an Australian water resource

SAC 2aUnit 3: Regional resources

AOS 1: Use and management of an Australian water resource

Key Skills and knowledge

• Classification of a resource

• Definition of a region

• Identification and classification of selected regions

• Geographic characteristics

Key Skills and knowledge

• Importance of water as a resource in Australia

• Distribution of water resources

• Factors affecting water use

• Factors affecting the pattern of water use

Importance of water as a resource

• Water is unevenly distributed

• There is a high variability in annual amount of rainfall. Australia's rainfall in 2009

was 453mm, which was slightly below the long-term average (1961-1990) of

464mm (BOM 2010b).

• There are high levels of evaporation

• Australia is the driest inhabited continent: 80% arid or semi-arid

• Australia has the second highest per capita consumption of water in the world.

Irrigation is Australia’s major water use

• Australia experienced a 12 year (1998-2010) drought which has been followed by

two years of above average rainfall.

What are the Geographic characteristics of the Murray-Darling Basin region ?

“What is there? What is it like?”

Characteristics might include: location, size, shape

Natural Features: Slope, soil types, wildlife, vegetation, climate, river Systems

Human Features: land uses (agriculture, urban), roads, buildings, infrastructure (dams, irrigation channels)

Not all regions of the Basin are the same and water availability and water use vary between regions. Summarise the geographic characteristics of various sub-regions of the

MDB.

Know the location of some of the major features of the Basin (towns, rivers, wetlands, agricultural regions)

• Area: The basin covers 1 061 469 km2, equivalent to 14% of Australia’s landmass or the size of South Africa.

• It is one of the world’s major river systems.

• It has 6% of Australia’s run-off but more than half the country’s water use occurs here.

About the MDB

Many rivers contributeMajor tributaries of the Murray Darling.

Source: http://www.anao.gov.au/Publications/Audit-Reports/2010-2011/Restoring-the-Balance-in-the-Murray-Darling-Basin/Audit-brochure

Rainfall varies with seasons

Annual Rainfall in the MDB is unevenlydistributed

Annual Rainfall Murray Darling Basin is uneven

Source: Bureau of Meteorology 2010 Annual Rainfall - Murray Darling Basin

Distribution of climatic regions

The contribution of water to theMurray-Darling system is uneven

Source: NP page 40

Flows in MDB rivers are naturally variable

The Darling dried up 48 times at Menindee, between 1885 and 1960

• Floods Balonne - Jan 2011

The Murray Darling Basin rivers are floodplain Riversrivers

2 Million people live in the MDB

Albury Wodonga

Canbera

Mildura

Water use varies

Corryong – Headwaters of the Murray river

Example questions and answers

• Describe the Geographic Characteristics of theMDB?

Not such a good answer• It’s big• The rivers are long• Farmers grow crops there• Some towns get their water from the river• A lot of people live there.• People have built dams and changed the river.• There are some problems with the water in the• river.• The rivers flow through a few states• Lots of people go there on their holidays

Good answer• The MDB covers 1 million square kilometres, equivalent to the size of France and Spain(It• extends over75% of NSW, 60% of Victoria ,14% of Qld ,7% of SA,100% of ACT)• The Murray is 2375 kms long and the Darling is 1472 km long• It is a regulated river and in an average year 35% of the total water flow is diverted.• It is naturally salty, but some human activities have increased the amount of salt in the• river.• In other parts of the world the amount of the water in a river increases as the river• approaches the mouth. In the Murray the opposite is the case.• Approx. 2 million people live in the Basin area and many cities and towns rely on the river• for drinking water (including Adelaide)• The MDB produces 40% of the total gross value of Australia’s agricultural product,• including 70% of irrigation production.• Mining and mineral production - $1.66 billion per year• Manufacturing - in excess of $13 billion per year• Forestry - more than $1.2 billion in wood and paper products• Electricity generation - Basin has over 75% of the mainland’s hydro electric power stations• In total, tourism in the MDB is worth over $3444.5 million.

Land Use

• Sheep and cattle were introduced to the region in large numbers

• Crops requiring large amounts of water were planted

• The country's growing population had to be fed

• Export markets needed to be established

Clearing

• ~15 billion trees were cleared to:• Establish farms• Supply fuel for the paddle steamers which

moved goods from the inland farms to the ports

Irrigation

• The application of water to crops or pasture, especially in dry regions, to supplement rainfall

• Began in the 1880’s in Mildura• Idea from California

Human uses

• Water is required to:– Generate power– Domestic– Industrial– Stock– Forestry– Mining– Recreation– Tourism– Irrigation, and….

Natural uses

• Water also provides a habitat for:– Mammals,– Birds– Reptiles– Frogs and – Freshwater fish.

Some of these species are now endangered

• The Murray river has been described as one of the hardest working rivers in the world, in terms of the amount of water that is taken out of it, and the variety of natural and human needs it supports

Important

• The Basin is Australia’s most important agricultural region

• Producing over 1/3 of the country's food supply

• Providing 39% of the national Income from agricultural production

• There is a strong spatial association between the basins dry land farming regions and the production of beef cattle, sheep and wheat.

Irrigation

• Majority of all water used in Australia is consumed in the MDB (52% in 2009) mainly for irrigation

• Almost 90% of the water is diverted for use• The basin contains:– 65% of Australia’s total irrigated land– 50% of the nations sheep– 25% of its cattle

Water needed in agricultural production

To produce 1 kg of:• wheat = 715 – 750 litres• maize = 540 – 30 litres• Soybeans = 1650 – 2200 litres• Rice = 1550 litres• Beef = 50 000 – 100 000 litres• Wool = 170 000 litres

Agricultural land use in the MDB

See page 49 of your text

Water use for agriculture and income generated, Australia wide

• What uses the most water?• What makes the most money?• What has the best return?

State and territory shares of the basin and their water use

Human and natural uses• In the past, the main role allocated to the river

was to provide water for human use.• Little thought was given to the needs of the

river itself • An unhealthy river = economical and social

impacts & environmental

Unhealthy river

• Dying river red gums• Declining fish numbers• Algal blooms• River not reaching the mouth• Drought

Environmental Flows

• Water allocated to the river for a healthy river• This water has to come from somewhere• Suggested 4000 gigalitres a year needs to be

returned to the river from farm allocations

Gigalitre = 1,000,000,000 litres = 1,000 Megalitres = 1 million litres

Concerns with Environmental flows

• Concerns that returning the water to the river

could lead to the decline of small towns

• Loss of thousands of jobs

• Loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in

economic growth

Can you tell me the names of any wetlands or sites that have been allocated environmental flows?

Does water for the environment have any value?

• A healthy river can have benefits for regional economies and employment

– Providing soil moisture for healthy plant life on riverbanks and flood plains

– Enabling insects to flourish and pollinate crops

– Replenishing aquifers and stabilising river banks through improved tree

cover

– Trees help keep the water table low, which reduces salinity and improves

the level of carbon storage

Who uses the water?• Water use is unevenly distributed

Biggest regional users on average per year are located in the southern basin:– Murray (4338 Gl)– Murrumbidge (2257 Gl )– Goulburn – Broken (1071 Gl)

Division of water

Adelaide receives 42% of its water supply from the Murray and up to 90% in drought years

7

54

34

5

% water taken from the Murray

SANSWVicQld

• The MDB contains 65% of Australia's irrigated land.

• The long term average use of the basins 1.65 million hectares of irrigated land is

Produce

• People in Australia and overseas consume agricultural products

• Volume of water used for crops and pastures varies from year to year depending on:– Volume available for irrigation– Trading– Commodity prices

Remember

• You will be answering questions using unseen data

• Remember to use the “interpreting questions” • If you can remember a stat or case study that

will improve your answer use it • Use your Spatial concepts and their methods