Analysis Of The Murray Darling Basin Authority's Basin Plan

Each year, at least 7.8 trillion gallons of water are drawn up from the Ogalla Aquifer to irrigate the crops planted on the High Plains. These cros are the main food sourrce for our entire country. Tragically, irrigation is depleting the aquifer faster than it can replenish itself, and that is the problem. In fact, only the tiniest fraction of the water is ever replaced in the Ogallala Aquifer. If the water were ever fully depleted, the aquifer would need 6,000 years to refill naturally (Zwingle 83). The only way the Ogalla can be replenished is by water seeping down through the layers of soil until it reaches the aquifer. This water comes from the small amount of precipitation in the region, as well as from streams, reservoirs, canals, and irrigation (McGuire and Sharpe).

The upper basin states (including Colorado) were allocated a much greater percentage of the water than the lower basin states, while the upper basin states were developing at a much slower rate than those in the lower basin, notably California. Nevada (as of 1997) anticipated being unable to rely just on this water by 2015, while in 1997 California was already exceeding its originally allocated supply by diverting unused water from the upper basin states (Arizona.edu, 1997). It goes without saying that this legislation from the early twentieth century is not going to be sufficient in coming years as the development of these regions has progressed at a much faster rate than originally anticipated, and it is the responsibility of state and federal governments, water management companies, as well as appeals from farmers and non-farming residents alike to come to an agreement on how to apportion water and how to implement secondary hydration plans due to the rapidly declining resource that the once-magnificent Colorado River was able to supply us

McEwen and Weintraub both state evidence on the information on their articles. They both give support which makes me believe them both. In McEwen’s article “River Plan Too Fishy for my Taste Buds” he states that their is to many problems with legislation and their is no funding, but at the same time everyone els wants to restore the river. In other hand Weintaub in his article “River Restoration Project Offers a Sprinkiling of Hope” he is all for it and he wants the changes.

Groundwater is in contact with surface water. However, traditionally, groundwater and surface water used to be considered as separate water resources (Winter, 1998). Because of that, management of groundwater and surface water resources poses a risk of allocating the same water twice in the water budget (Geosciences Australia, 2013). Not only two resources are in close contact rather they do interact. So, Winter (1998) considered groundwater and surface water as a single resource.

Water is the most relied upon resource on earth and if it disappeared life could not and would not exist on this planet. So if one of our main sources of water in South Australia, The Murray Darling-Basin, becomes unusable then we would need to find the problem and do everything possible to stop it or counteract it. This report investigates on salinity in the Murray Darling-Basin, using the issue question “Is there enough being done to counteract the effects of salinity in the Murray?” as the focus. Salinity is a key significant environmental challenge which the Murray faces and if left unmanaged it could cause serious implications for water quality, plant growth, biodiversity, land productivity, infrastructure and could lead to a loss of

The negative of the “supply-side” management strategy is: the contamination due to fracking for creating wells and bottling to store water, and deadly levels of arsenic in ARS wells. On other side, the positive of the “supply-side” management strategy is that Its projected that with the use of a 15 gallon reservoirs and a 66 gallon water treatment plants can be cut down 1/3 of groundwater usage. We must use desalination plants, wells, bottling, and reservoirs to counteract the rainwater cannot naturally replenish the aquifers because of the human developments covering the ground.

In the 1930s, Saskatchewan faced numerous amounts of droughts and decided it was necessary to improve water security for agriculture, municipalities and industry. Lake Diefenbaker provided water to the province through canals and pipelines. Since the 1930s, southern Saskatchewan and the Moose Jaw-Regina Industrial Corridor have grown substantially. The demand for water is already coming close to meeting the capacity of the existing water supply infrastructure through the Upper Qu’Appelle. This limited water supply can be detrimental to both the economy and social growth. Studies have proved that the water use in the Qu’Appelle River Basin is going to increase in the near future. -

“Climate change” and its impact on basic water supply is at their foreground. It is an unfortunate reality that the terms of the Colorado Compact, the document dividing the Colorado’s waters, is an unworkable document. Based on allotments formulated in an “especially wet year,” the average volume now flowing does not meet the amounts specified in the agreement. Under the terms of the document, California receives the largest share, but with Southern California’s exploding population, this will be increasingly inadequate. Absent changes in both urban and agricultural use patterns, the deficit will only grow and further stress the state’s political and economic systems. Man’s mastery will thus prove illusory and short-lived and the original problems of water supply will return in highly magnified

Fresh water is a valuable resource in Texas and it is anticipated that over the next fifty years supply will cease to meet demand. The current state water plan has many inadequacies and is not considered to be very sustainable, cost-effective, or environmentally-sound. Basically for an estimated fifty three billion dollars, the plan proposes to build twenty six new reservoir sites and a series of long-haul water pipelines which would have environmentally damaging impacts (Hardberger). The state water plan does not account for some items that many environmentalists believe to be critical and mistakenly assumes that we will continue to use water in the same way for the next fifty years (Hardberger). The 2012 Texas State Water Plan should be

In the past recognized as the Sugarloaf Pipeline, the North-South Pipeline is a 70 kilometer pipeline that has the ability to convey water to Melbourne’s depositories at Sugarloaf Reservoir from Goulburn River. Starting from the Eildon Reservoir, the water is discharged into Goulburn River, and then it is pumped into the pipeline and transferred 70 kilometers over the Great Dividing Range to Melbourne. Steaming into the Sugarloaf Reservoir then blended with water from two sources, the Maroondah and Yarra catchments.

This is good news and will help but sources say it will take 50+ years to replenish our Aquifers. There are things we could all do to help conserve groundwater and give the Aquifers a chance to fill up

Environmental groups, independent researchers and agricultural groups were concerned with the unlimited water use that would dry up aquifers necessary for the agricultural industry in the Great Artesian Basin. Almost the whole of Queensland, Mackay conservation group, and various activists had laid the groundwork for one of the biggest environmental protest movement in the country’s history. The campaign took the fight against Australia’s largest proposed coal mine, to yet another level, beyond the courts, and into a non-violent movement.

It has come to my concern that the overuse of water has caused many problems throughout Australia. The overuse of water has destroyed habitats and instigated droughts and i believe that there will be less water for the future. I urge you to read this letter and consider changing the overuse of water for the better of our country.

The Ogallala aquifer provides ground water for eight states: Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. It is a major source of water for agriculture in our nation’s farmland. Much of our wheat, corn, and dairy and beef come from the states that lie over the Ogallala Aquifer. Many of these farms are heavily dependent of the aquifer to provide the water they need to keep in business due to the lack of surface water in the region. Even with the improved technology to monitor how much water is needed for the crops the Ogallala Aquifer is rapidly becoming depleted. If not managed properly it is possible that there will be a repeat of the Dust Bowl. (Parker, L., & Olson, R., 2017) The aquifer’s recharge rate

The relevance is given as we need an adequate material to build the dam as well as enough water to achieve a water level and finally to maintain that level. It also should be thought about a solution for the silt coming down the river in order to keep on getting a clear flush.