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Water Management in Australia

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Water Management in Australia Water Management in Australia Proposal for Australian Dam Development Lou Madjeric 8 April 2014 Hume Dam, courtesy Murray Darling Basin Authority Proposal for Australian Dam Development EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AS THE DRIEST CONTINENT, AUSTRALIA’S DEVELOPMENT HAS BEEN HEAVILY CONCENTRATED IN COASTAL REGIONS, LEAVING THE INTERIOR UNDEVELOPED OR UNDERDEVELOPED. UNLIKE THE BRADFIELD SCHEME WHICH AIMED TO DIVERT WATER FROM POPULOUS AREAS INTO THE INTERIOR, THIS SCHEME PROPOSES TO HARVEST MONSOONAL RAINFALL IN THE GULF OF CARPENTARIA AND USE IT TO HELP DROUGHT-PROOF QUEENSLAND; RE- INVIGORATE THE MURRAY-DARLING RIVER SYSTEM; RE-CHARGE THE GREAT ARTESIAN BASIN; AND HELP GREEN AUSTRALIA. IT ENVISIONS A SYSTEM OF SMALL CATCHMENT DAMS IN THE MONSOON BELT, LARGE HOLDING DAMS IN THE OUTBACK, SMALL DISCHARGE DAMS TO FEED RIVERS FLOWING INTO THE MURRAY-DARLING RIVER SYSTEM, AND PIPELINES BETWEEN THESE ELEMENTS. THE FIRST STAGE OF THIS NATION BUILDING PROJECT COULD BE CONSTRUCTED OVER A TEN-YEAR PERIOD AT AN ESTIMATED ANNUAL COST OF JUST 0.6% OF PROJECTED FEDERAL GOVERNMENT REVENUES. Rev 4: 20 May 2014 Page 2 of 22 Proposal for Australian Dam Development Abstract Australia is the oldest and driest continent and this has had a profound influence on its development. Australia has an abundance of rain but it tends to fall along the coast. Dam building in Australia has generally focussed on large dams in relatively isolated areas where the cost of land is low and where few people are likely to be affected. Unfortunately, these are often the areas in which rainfall is lowest and/or least reliable. A network of judiciously placed dams would address the many issues and challenges of unreliable water supply. A considered approach to this problem would be to create different types of dams for different purposes, and to link them with pipelines. Large holding dams could be constructed in remote locations away from the coast, while smaller catchment dams could be constructed nearer the coast in areas of heavy and reliable rainfall. Australia has a well-developed pipeline industry, and modern pipelines using plastic piping are relatively easy to construct and maintain. Pumps would be required to move the water between dams and the power for these pumps could be largely provided by wind turbines and/or photovoltaic arrays. While research would need to be conducted to determine the best sites for each dam, this proposal envisions a pilot with an initial catchment dam being located in the monsoon belt along the southern coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria, a holding dam in a suitable location in or near the headwaters of the Darling River system, and if necessary, a small discharge dam to provide ingress into the river system itself. Benefits of this scheme would include: • Re-invigoration of the Murray-Darling River System (Appendix I) • Filling of Lake Torrens (Appendix II) • Recharge of Australia’s major aquifers (Appendix III) • Greater development of outback Australia with resultant shift in population (Appendix IV) • Security of water supplies for major population centres (Appendix V) • Flood mitigation (Appendix VI) • Clean energy using hydro power(Appendix VII) • Greening of Australia (Appendix VIII). Other schemes with similar objectives such as the Bradfield Scheme have failed because they aimed to divert water from populous coastal regions; were impractical; or financially prohibitive. This proposal does not rely on diverting water already committed; is well within the expertise and capabilities of Australians to deliver; and is fiscally responsible. For significant infrastructure projects to succeed, there needs to be a vision, political will, and funding. This proposal is intended to provide the vision. Lou Madjeric Caboolture, Qld Rev 4: 20 May 2014 Page 3 of 22 Proposal for Australian Dam Development Introduction Shortly after the first British settlement in Australia, explorers set out to look for arable lands in the hinterland. Some reports came back of vast grasslands which were likened to the American prairies. As a consequence, settlers ventured inland to establish homesteads. Many found from bitter experience that the beautiful Australian outback was suitable for agriculture only after rain, and that rainfall is a rare commodity, occasionally arriving as a deluge, but more often not at all. Figure 1. Abandoned Kanyaka Homestead SA If Australia is to reach its potential as a Nation, we need to be able to manage our water resources better than we have in the past. We need to move beyond the “No Dam” mentality which has removed a major avenue of development 1, 2. Rainfall in Australia is greatest along the coast (see map below) but is needed further inland to support agriculture, population growth, general development and even tourism. When rain does fall in areas away from the coast, it is relatively unreliable, resulting in river and stream flow rates much more variable than in the rest of the world. What is required is the development of a system which can harness the heavy coastal rainfall and deliver the water to inland areas of greatest need. In general terms this means a system of small catchment dams in coastal areas; large holding dams inland; pipelines between dams; pumps to move the water where it is needed; and power for the pumps. Rev 4: 20 May 2014 Page 4 of 22 Proposal for Australian Dam Development Figure 2. Average annual rainfall based on 30-year climatology (1961-1990) Figure 3. Percent run-off from each drainage division. Rev 4: 20 May 2014 Page 5 of 22 Proposal for Australian Dam Development On average, only 12% of rainfall runs off to collect in rivers: in five of Australia's 12 drainage divisions, run-off is less than 2%; in the two tropical monsoonal drainage divisions of Timor Sea and Gulf of Carpentaria, run-off is greater than 20%. The remaining 88% of rainfall is accounted for by evaporation, water used by vegetation, and water held in storages including natural lakes, wetlands and groundwater aquifers 3. Catchment Dams About a quarter of Australia’s mean annual runoff occurs in the Gulf of Carpentaria. A series of relatively small catchment dams could be built near the coast in areas of high rainfall and low population such as the southern coast of the Gulf. These dams could harvest monsoonal and other rains without significantly affecting the ecosystem of the Gulf. Holding Dams Large holding dams could be sited in areas carefully selected to maximise the benefits of the dams, minimise the negative effects on the environment, and reduce the costs of establishment. Such dams could be located near areas with agricultural potential, especially those which have not been intensively farmed. These would be areas of low current population so few people would be significantly impacted and acquisition costs of property for the dams would be relatively low. These areas would also become significant economic zones, attracting agricultural and ancillary industries. Such dams might also be sited over geological structures which provide intakes into aquifers such as the Great Artesian Basin (see Appendix III). Discharge Dams Small discharge dams may need to be built at ingress points into the Murray-Darling system as terminals for the pipeline(s). Rev 4: 20 May 2014 Page 6 of 22 Proposal for Australian Dam Development Figure 4. Example of a large holding dam. Pipelines Australians are very experienced at pipeline construction as can be gauged from the industry body APIA and the attached map which can be purchased from the APIA. The earliest significant water pipeline constructed in Australia is the one between Perth and Coolgardie in Western Australia constructed between 1896 and 1903 using an Australian invention of steel, rivet-less pipe 4. It is still in use today and supports a population in the Kalgoorlie- Coolgardie area in excess of 30,000 people. Pipelines can now be constructed of many materials but the use of plastic piping has revolutionised the industry, simplifying construction and minimising maintenance costs. Rev 4: 20 May 2014 Page 7 of 22 Proposal for Australian Dam Development Figure 5. Australia’s Major Pipeline Systems as at 2011. Pumps Steam driven pumps were installed on the Perth-Coolgardie pipeline to lift the water almost 400 metres over the Darling ranges 5. Eight pumps were required to pump 23,000 kilolitres of water per day 6. Water pumps are far more advanced, powerful and flexible today. Power The technology of the late 19th and early 20th centuries required timber to be burnt to power the steam engines which pumped water. Wind power, photovoltaic generation, and pumped storage hydroelectricity can all be used to power the massive pumps available to our generation. Pumped storage schemes pump water into an elevated holding reservoir when the price of power is low (overnight) and release it through a hydro turbine when the price is high during peak periods7. Rev 4: 20 May 2014 Page 8 of 22 Proposal for Australian Dam Development Figure 7. Photovoltaic Array Figure 6. Wind Turbine Figure 8. Cairn Curran Spilling Rev 4: 20 May 2014 Page 9 of 22 Proposal for Australian Dam Development Costs Because of the many potential variables inherent in this vision, this document does not attempt a detailed costing of the scheme; nevertheless it is helpful to present some idea of orders of magnitude. Comparators • The aborted Traveston Dam Project was estimated to cost $1.7B and take 3.5 years to construct (Stage 1 - 2.5 years and Stage 2 – 1 year) 16. • The 100km Southern Regional Water Pipeline in South-East Queensland was estimated to cost $900M17. • The Moomba to Sydney Gas Pipeline Network consisting of 2029km of piping was completed over a period of 19 years (1974-1993)18. • The forecast budget revenue for the Federal Government in 2014-15 is estimated to be $411.6B19.
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