Australian Water Management Review Vol 2 2013 | Page 81

Securing Australia’s

groundwater future

Groundwater is one of Australia’s most precious yet little-understood resources. Out of sight, it often fails to trigger the same levels of emotion or concern shown to other higher profile environmental priorities. But groundwater is the lifeblood of numerous communities, cities, industries and dependent ecosystems throughout Australia. Without it, agriculture would struggle, Australia’s mining boom would fizzle and numerous cities and rural towns such as Perth, Newcastle and Alice Springs would lose their main water source. An estimate widely accepted by scientists and policymakers is that groundwater now directly supplies more than 30 per cent of the nation’s consumptive use – and more than double this in Western Australia. Over the next 40–50 years the need for fresh water will escalate as Australia’s population doubles. More droughts are likely and with climate change we can expect less rain and more evaporation in the nation’s south-east. Together these changes present new and complex challenges for the management of a resource we are far from fully understanding.
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