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6 ACCEPTED SOLUTIONS
Accepted Solutions
@paintsew007 wrote:Satellite picture - A satellite photo of green crop circles in the Saudi Arabian desert
I don't know much about all this but I guess using artesian water resources or fossil water would have to be carefully regulated........"Fossil water is a nonrenewable resource. "
https://malate.wordpress.com/2009/12/15/home-by-yann-arthus-bertrand-text-version-part-i/
The desert irrigation area that I have experience with is definately artesian, fossil type water. When it was first opened up for large scale irrigation ( early 1980,s ) it was extremly poorly managed ( and many believe corruption was involved ) A few wealthy established, statewide vegtable growers recieved free water licences along with a few shifty, fast moving, local establishment types who got themeselves elected on water boards and promptly got hold of large free licences. Some of these guys had never watered their own lawns and never actually used the licences. Existing local farmers had buckleys hope of recieving a licence.
As the licences where restricted and drought plagued River Murray irrigators they quickly became very valuable. ( in some cases worth millions ). The licences where for a given area rather than megalitre and so irrigators would have pivots running day and night. It was common on 40 degree days with northerly winds to see the pivots spraying water into the wind and just blowing away.
This angered the locals who complained loud and hard. Thirty years later and the licences are only now being converted to volumetric megalitre values. ( better late than never I suppose ) .
The licences are structured so that the water will effectivly run out in 100 years from the time they where issued. ( a water mining policy ). There is a second aquifer deeper than the current one that is supposed to be the back-up resource once the first runs out, ( in 100 years ) but I have heard that some irrigators are already tapping into this one. The irrigation area concerned is a circle with a radius of perhaps 50 km. Outside of this area the water rapidly becomes saline. Some livestock farmers on the periphory are finding their stock water bores are becoming too saline for their stock as the irrigation water is drawn out and the salty water is drawn from the edges.
These are some of the problems. While this is all a bit gloomy, I would have to say on balance, the irrigation industry has been very positive for the district and I do support it.
The short answer is yes it needs to be carefully regulated. Unfortunately this does not mean it happens in practice.
Many desert areas of Australia could be developed for irrigation. Suadi countries have vast wealth from oil and a desire to provide food security through irrigation. Australia is not as wealthy and seems to be more interested in pandering to the globalisation mantra than securing local employment and basic food and manufacturing industry security.
to am3
It’s now much better economically to have earthquakes than not to have them, maybe?
@paintsew007 wrote:to am3
It’s now much better economically to have earthquakes than not to have them, maybe?
Not if you live in the area.
For builders, plumbers and other tradies.. boom time.
