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.

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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

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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.

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Figure 2. Average annual rainfall based on 30-year climatology (1961-1990)

Figure 3. Percent run-off from each drainage division.

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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).

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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.

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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.

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Figure 7. Photovoltaic Array

Figure 6. Wind Turbine Figure 8. Cairn Curran Spilling

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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.

Assumptions

A catchment dam in the Gulf of Carpentaria and a small discharge dam at the headwaters of the Warrego River should be cheaper to build than the aborted Traveston Dam.

The distance from the Gulf of Carpentaria to the NSW border is approximately 1,700km, so moving water the full distance and allowing for possible spur lines and terrain, we should expect to construct some 2,000km of pipeline. A water pipeline would be simpler and therefore quicker and easier to construct than an equivalent gas pipeline. At the $9M per kilometre rate of the Southern Regional Water Pipeline, the total cost therefore should be less than $18B. However a pipeline should also be cheaper to construct in the outback than in the heavily populated South-East of Qld, so this figure is considered to be conservative.

Allowing for contingencies, a catchment dam, discharge dam and associated pipeline is therefore likely to cost less than $20B. Assuming a construction period of four years for the dam, and ten years for the complete pipeline, the projected cost of $2.3B per year for the first four years represents less than 0.6% of forecast budget revenues for the Federal Government for 2014-15.

By comparison, the Snowy Mountains Scheme cost a total of $840M over a period of 25 years20, representing approximately 0.8% of Federal Government receipts each year during that period21,22.

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Priorities

Setting priorities for major infrastructure spending is quintessentially a political decision, however a nation building plan such as the one being proposed can only be realised in stages, so I would offer the following steps as early priorities:

• The most immediate priority is to build a dam near the southern coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria to collect the abundant and reliable monsoonal rainfall; • At the same time, we need to build a pipeline to take the monsoon harvest south through outback Queensland to Lake Maraboon near Emerald in Queensland, and from there to the headwaters of the Warrego River. The Warrego rises in the region of the Carnarvon National Park south of Emerald, and flows into the Murray-Darling system south-west of Bourke in NSW; • Build spur lines to outback townships in Queensland such as Winton, Longreach and Blackall to help drought-proof our rural centres; • Connect Lake Maraboon to the South-East Queensland water grid by a two-way pipeline. This would help drought-proof the most populous region of Queensland, while providing another source of water to inland Queensland and the Murray-Darling system in times of plentiful rain along the South-East Queensland coast. This would also help flood-proof the South East; and • Monitor the success of the system and if feasible, factor it up to o increase the water flow into the Murray-Darling system, perhaps using Lake Kajarabie at St George and the Culgoa River as a second entry point; o flood Lake Torrens; and o recharge the Great Artesian Basin

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Appendix I

Re-invigoration of the Murray-Darling River System

The Murray-Darling Basin has long been a key area for agriculture in Australia. Unfortunately the unreliability of rainfall in the catchment areas has meant that the flow variability in the rivers and streams that make up the basin is almost four times the world average 8. This is compounded by the high usage of water from the system for agriculture and industry.

Locating a holding dam in the upper reaches of the basin, for example in the Warrego River catchment area, would enable water to be released into the system at a steady rate. The rate could be adjusted to mitigate floods and reduce the impact of droughts, as well as take into account water usage.

Reducing the variability of river flow would increase the efficiency of downstream agriculture. It would also flush the system and improve its ecological health.

Figure 9. Murray-Darling River System

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Appendix II

Filling of Lake Torrens

Aside from the impact on the Murray-Darling River System, water from the catchment dams might be used in the future to fill Lake Torrens.

“Lake Torrens is a 5,700 square kilometre endorheic saline rift lake in South Australia. It forms part of the same rift valley that includes Spencer Gulf to the south and is approximately 240 km long.” 9 It is about 65 km wide and lies to the west of the Flinders Ranges which rise to almost 1,200 metres 10.

Filling of Lake Torrens with fresh water from the Gulf of Carpentaria would have many benefits including:

• An increase in rainfall in the Murray-Darling River System as a result of the natural processes of evaporation and orographic uplift driven by the prevailing south westerly winds over the Flinders Ranges; • Increased population and tourism based on the lake and its surrounds; • Provision of a reliable water supply to South Australian cities such as Port Augusta and Whyalla; • Agricultural development along the valley of the Lake Torrens overflow to the Spencer Gulf, and; • Significant greening of a generally arid area of Australia.

Figure 11. Flinders Ranges

Figure 10. Lake Torrens

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Appendix III

Recharge of Australia’s Major Aquifers

According to Wikipedia, the Great Artesian Basin provides the only reliable source of freshwater through much of inland Australia. The basin is the largest and deepest artesian basin in the world, stretching over a total of 26,000 square kilometres. It underlies 23% of the continent, including most of Queensland, the south-east corner of the Northern Territory, the north-east part of South Australia, and northern New South Wales 11.

“Recharge is the inflow of water to the groundwater system from the surface. Infiltration of precipitation and its movement to the watertable is one form of natural recharge. Modelled deep drainage (water moving to below the root zone) shows a similar spatial pattern to runoff across the country, but with smaller magnitudes than runoff (up to about 250 mm each year for recharge as compared with up to about 5000 mm each year for average annual runoff). Spatially, deep drainage is highly variable and dependent on soil type, vegetation/land use, and topography, amongst other factors” 12.

Most recharge water enters the rock formations from relatively high ground near the eastern edge of the basin (in Queensland and New South Wales) and very gradually flows towards the south and west.

Geological surveys could be carried out to determine the locations where recharge waters enter the basin, and where appropriate, holding dams would be positioned over significant ingress points to increase the rate of recharge.

Figure 12. Great Artesian Basin

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Appendix IV

Greater Development of Outback Australia with Resultant Shift in Population

Australia comprises a land area of about 7.692 million square kilometres 13. Australia’s land mass is about 84% that of the United States of America which has 9.166 million sq km, yet with a population of approximately 23 million people its population is less than 7.5 % that of the US 14.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the country's vast openness means it has the lowest population density in the world - only two people per square kilometre 15. However this would not be the case if, in this vast openness, there was adequate and reliable water.

Creating a network of dams and pipelines in outback Australia, and reducing river flow variation wherever possible across the continent, would inevitably help reverse the population drift to the major coastal cities. Towns would develop around dams and along reliable waterways to service agricultural activities. Transport and tourism would follow, with the necessary transport infrastructure being developed. This would encourage greater travel through, and more settlement in, the great Australian outback.

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Appendix V

Security of Water Supplies for Major Population Centres

The proposed dam system would significantly increase the security of water supply not just for towns and cities near the dams, but eventually also for all Australia’s major population centres. This would be achieved by being able to pump water through the network in either direction, so that when an area experiences drought, water could be pumped in from less affected areas.

Figure 13. Wivenhoe Dam

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Appendix VI

Flood Mitigation

Just as dams can be used for security of water supply, so they can be used for flood mitigation. When destructive rainfall events are expected, water can be pumped from dams in the catchment areas, e.g. the Brisbane Valley, to dams which are not at full capacity. This would increase the flood mitigation capacities of the catchment area dams.

Figure 14. Paradise Dam

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Appendix VII

Clean energy using hydro power

In a world rightly concerned with clean energy, hydro-electric power should be a high priority. When contained water drops rapidly, it can be utilised to drive turbines which can produce electricity. This scheme would provide many opportunities to do this.

Figure 14. Tumut 3 Power Station

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Appendix VIII

Greening of Australia

A greener environment is a healthier environment. There is little disagreement that planting trees is a good thing for the environment. However trees need water in order to grow and prosper, and this scheme would make a very significant contribution to the greening of Australia.

Figure 15. Example of a woodland bird found in revegetated woodland.

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Figures

1. Abandoned Kanyaka Homestead SA. Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kanyaka_homestead.jpg 2. Average annual rainfall based on 30-year climatology (1961-1990). Australian Natural Resources Atlas http://www.anra.gov.au/topics/water/pubs/national/water_availability.html 3. Percent run-off from each drainage division. Australian Natural Resources Atlas http://www.anra.gov.au/topics/water/pubs/national/water_availability.html 4. Example of a large holding dam. http://www.sweetwaterfishing.com.au/ 5. Australia’s Major Pipeline Systems as at 2011. http://pipeliner.com.au/resource/category/water_pipelines/1247 6. Wind Turbine. Wikipedia Images http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw= 2133&bih=971&q=wind+turbines+images&oq=wind+turbines&gs 7. Photovoltaic Array. Wikipedia Images http://www.google.com.au/search?q=photovoltaic+cells+images&hl=en&tbm=isch &tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=ERYvUcOYCoSFkwX2_YHIBQ&ved=0CC0QsAQ&biw=1600&b ih=728 8. Cairn Curran Spilling. The Australian National Committee on Large Dams Incorporated http://www.ancold.org.au/ 9. Murray-Darling River System. Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murray%E2%80%93Darling_basin 10. Lake Torrens. Water Resources – Management and Development – South Australia. Australian Natural Resources Atlas http://www.anra.gov.au/topics/water/management/sa/basin-lake-torrens.html 11. Flinders Ranges. Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flinders_Ranges 12. Great Artesian Basin. eHistory http://ehistory.osu.edu/osu/origins/origins_imgzoom.cfm?id=832&backpage=maps .cfm?articleid=39 13. Wivenhoe Dam. Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wivenhoe_Dam 14. Tumut 3 Power Station. Snowy Hydro http://www.snowyhydro.com.au/energy/hydro/power-stations/ 15. Example of a woodland bird found in revegetated woodland. Greening Australia http://www.greeningaustralia.org.au/uploads/Our%20Resources%20- %20pdfs/Reveg_Guide_Eucalypt_Woodlands_Case_Study_FINAL.pdf

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References

1. To dam or not to dam? Australian Geographic http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/to-dam-or-not-to-dam-in- australia.htm 2. Senator calls for dam action. Senator Ian Macdonald in North Queensland Register 27th October 2011. 3. Percent run-off for each drainage division. Australian Natural Resources Atlas http://www.anra.gov.au/topics/water/pubs/national/water_availability.html 4. Water pipeline from Perth to Kalgoorlie: 1894 -1903, The Australian Pipeliner — April 2007 http://pipeliner.com.au/news/water_pipeline_from_perth_to_kalgoorlie_1894_- 1903/040096/ 5. Goldfields Water Supply Scheme, Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldfields_Water_Supply_Scheme 6. Ibid. 7. Pumped Storage Schemes. The Role of Dams http://www.ancold.org.au/file/The%20Role%20of%20Dams.pdf 8. Australia’s Rivers. Australia Bureau of Statistics Year Book 2003 http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/94713ad445ff1425ca25682000192af2/a301124cda a05be4ca256cae001599c5!OpenDocument 9. Lake Torrens. Dry Lake Racers Australia http://www.dlra.org.au/ref-salt-lakes.htm 10. Flinders Ranges. Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flinders_Ranges 11. Great Artesian Basin. Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Artesian_Basin 12. Groundwater recharge. Australian Water Resources 2005 http://www.water.gov.au/WaterAvailability/Whatisourtotalwaterresource/Groundwat erRecharge/index.aspx?Menu=Level1_3_1_6 13. The Australian Continent. Australian Government http://australia.gov.au/about- australia/our-country/the-australian-continent 14. US Population. Infoplease http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0110379.html 15. Population Today. Australian Government http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/our- country/our-people#Populationtoday 16. Report on Initial Advice Statement – Proposed Traveston Crossing Dam, Mary River, Queensland. http://www.dsdip.qld.gov.au/resources/project/traveston-crossing- dam/traveston-dam-ias-dec-06.pdf 17. Connecting and diversifying our water supplies – the South East Queensland Water Grid. http://www.dsdip.qld.gov.au/resources/publication/annual-report/dip-annual-report- 08-connecting-and-diversifying-our-water-supplies.pdf 18. Moomba to Sydney Pipeline. http://www.aer.gov.au/node/1131 19. Appendix A - Australian Government budget aggregates. http://www.budget.gov.au/2013- 14/content/overview/html/overview_38.htm 20. The Snowy Mountains Scheme. http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian- story/snowy-mountains-scheme 21. Australian Economic Statistics 1949-1950 to 1996-1997: Occasional Paper No. 8 – Section 2.14: Outlays, Receipts and Balance of the Commonwealth Budget. http://www.rba.gov.au/statistics/frequency/occ-paper-8.html 22. Australian Economic Statistics 1949-1950 to 1996-1997: Occasional Paper No. 8 – Section 2.17: Commonwealth Government Taxation Receipts. http://www.rba.gov.au/statistics/frequency/occ-paper-8.html

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