Water security in Australia became a major concern in Australia in the late 20th and early 21st century as a result of population growth, recurring severe droughts, effects of climate change on Australia, environmental degradation from reduced environmental flows, competition between competing interests such as grazing, irrigation and urban water supplies, and competition between upstream and downstream users. For example, there is competition for the resources of the Darling River system between Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia. Water reform was first placed on the national agenda at the 1994 Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting when a strategic framework was devised. As the knowledge of surface and groundwater systems grew and the awareness of the significance of sustainable water markets increased, further water reform was agreed to at the 2004 COAG meeting, under a national blueprint known as the National Water Initiative (NWI).
Australia can be divided into 12 major drainage divisions. For example, the Murray-Darling drainage division consists of the Murray River basin and the Darling River basin. Three of these drainage divisions account for 87% of the water that Australia consumes – the North East Coast division, the South East Coast division, and the Murray-Darling. This means that the supply of water within Australia is highly concentrated, and any defect to one of these major water divisions can cause major water security issues.
Privatisation of water
In the 21st century, there have been attempts to establish a privatised water market in Australia, with Victoria acting as a model for other states. Many political parties, community groups, NGO's and other groups and people see the privatisation of water as a denial of basic human rights on behalf of state and federal governments . Water privatisation is a highly controversial issue and touches on the much broader arguments for and against the private control of formerly public services.
Boundaries to water security A major boundary which affects effective water management is the highly variable precipitation levels of Australia – Australian rainfall is more variable than rainfall in the rest of the world since it is driven by the Southern Oscillation rather than by seasonal changes.Diamond, Jared (2005). Collapse, p. 384. Penguin Books, London. The result is that for the same level of reliability of supply, dams in Australia need to be six times as large as those in Europe and twice as large as the world average to ensure water sources do not run dry during dry seasons.
Competition for water
Competition between states In Australia there is competition for the resources of the Darling River system between Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia. Similarly, there is competition for the resources of the Murray River between NSW, Victoria and South Australia. The South Australian government established a new ministerial portfolio of Water Security as the water security issues facing South Australia and the Lower Lakes and Coorong emerged.(February 2007). South Australia Appoints Minister for Water Security. Hawker Britton. Retrieved=2009-01-20 South Australia also has an Independent Commissioner for Water Security.(10 January 2009). Water Security Commissioner in new SA role. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
Competition between regions In Victoria a pipeline from the Goulburn River to Melbourne has led to protests by farmers against the linkage of Victoria's water system to facilitate the privatisation of water in the region.Ellen Whinnett. (18 January 2008). Protest on water regarding pipeline. News.com.au Retrieved on 19 January 2009.
Competition between uses In the Macquarie Marshes of NSW grazing and irrigation interests compete for water flowing to the marshes which would otherwise support the environment. There have been a series of embankments built to channel water flowing towards the marshes to privately held commercial interests, some of which are being thought to have been done illegally.David Claughton & Meg Strang. (29 June 2007). Irrigators battle over Macquarie Marshes. ABC News. Retrieved on 25 January 2009.
Competition for environmental flows The Snowy Mountains Scheme diverted water from the Snowy River to the Murray River and the Murrumbidgee River for the benefit of irrigators and electricity generation through hydro-electric power. In recent years, government has taken action to increase environmental flows to the Snowy in spite of severe drought in the Murray-Darling basin. The Government of Australia has implemented buy-backs of water allocations, or properties with water allocations, to endeavour to increase environmental flows.
Regulatory agencies
Federal
National Water Commission The National Water Commission was an independent statutory body within the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities that was established to implement the National Water Initiative and reform the broader national water agenda. The National Water Commission published a report on the future need for desalination technologies to play a role in securing Australia's water supplies. It also publishes a biennial assessment of progress in implementation of the National Water Initiative, the latest being in October 2009. The 2009 assessment nominates areas of slow or inadequate reform and makes 68 recommendations for action over the next two years. The commission was abolished in 2014.
Research The CSIRO is leading a Water for a Healthy Country Flagship research project to develop information technologies to help water managers.Youna Angevin-Castro. Quenching Data Thirst the First Step to Water Security. Retrieved on 20 January 2009.
The Urban Water Security Research Alliance has been formed to address South-East Queensland's emerging urban water issues.Urban Water Security Research Alliance. Retrieved on 20 January 2009.
The Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists conducted research into the sustainability of water usage in Australia.Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists. Retrieved on 20 January 2009.
Related environmental campaigns The WWF campaigns for security of water flows to areas with such as Ramsar listed wetlands.(26 September 2007).Wetland recognition a good step towards water security. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
Snowy River flows The Australian Conservation Foundation and Total Environment Centre campaigned for restoration of some environmental flows to the Snowy River which had been diverted to the Murray River by the Snowy Mountains Scheme for irrigation and power generation.(4 February 2008). Snowy River 2007 – a handful of facts. Retrieved on 20 January 2009.Snowy River Flows Threatened Unless Snowy Water Licence Changed. Total Environment Centre. Retrieved=20 January 2009 This campaign led to a multi party agreement to restore some flows.(13 October 2011). The Snowy River - an Historic Agreement. Victoria Department of Sustainability and Environment. Retrieved=20 January 2009.
National Plan For Water Security In January 2005, the Federal Government published "A National Plan For Water Security".A National Plan For Water Security. Retrieved=20 January 2009. This was after the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists released its Blueprint for a Living Continent in November 2002. This blueprint set out a five-point plan.Senate Submission: The Urgent Provision of Water to the Coorong and Lower Lakes. Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists. Retrieved on 20 January 2009
The Intergovernmental Agreement on a National Water Initiative was signed at 25 June 2004 Council of Australian Governments meeting. The Tasmanian Government joined the Agreement in June 2005 and the Western Australia Government joined in April 2006.National Water Initiative. Australian Government National Water Commission. Retrieved on 20 January 2009
Major capital works for increased major urban water security Several major capital works are currently under construction in an effort to privatise the nation's water. Water desalination has been introduced as a way of creating new water to increase the security of the supply of water, at huge financial costs, environmental losses and increased greenhouse gas emissions, while several pipelines are under construction in an effort to link regional systems to facilitate the trading of water.D!ssent, Article by Kenneth Davidson "Water Lies", Issue 31 Summer 09/10 Price rises for consumers have been highest in Sydney where water deliveries are provided by Australia's largest utility, Sydney Water. The policies of several State Governments moves away from sustainable water management and divests themselves of their responsibilities to provide sustainable, just and affordable, potable water to their population.
Western Australia The Government of Western Australia built the Perth Seawater Desalination Plant in an effort to privatise Western Australia's water system.
New South Wales The Sydney Desalination Plant constructed by the Government of New South Wales at Kurnell near Botany Bay has commenced operations. The power usage is to be offset by a new wind farm. Sydney also draws water from the Shoalhaven River near Nowra.
Hunter Water proposes a dam, Tillegra Dam, on the Williams River in Dungog Shire in the Upper Hunter Region. When completed, the dam will hold 450 billion litres of water. The estimated cost of the dam was around $300 million. Included in the dam proposal is a hydro-power generation plant which will generate around 3,000 megawatt hours of energy each year. Hunter Water is also proposing to plant 1.5 million trees as carbon offsets. The need for this dam is strongly disputed and subject to review by the NSW Government Department of Planning. Hunter Water claims the dam is required to "drought proof" Newcastle and the Central Coast. Opponents say the dam is grossly excessive for this need, will drown valuable agricultural land and greater water efficiency, demand management and recycling would eliminate the need for the dam.
South Australia The Adelaide Desalination Plant, a 300 megalitre per day plant, began producing water in October 2011.
Victoria Victoria has undertaken several major construction projects to link state water supplies. These projects were designed to establish a statewide water market in preparation for the privatisation of Victoria's water. The works included the Victorian Desalination Plant, which was completed in December 2012,Desalination Plant : Projects. Melbourne Water. Retrieved on 20 January 2009 the North–South Pipeline completely in February 2010 to carry water from the Goulburn River to Melbourne's Sugarloaf Reservoir in times of need, and an interconnector pipeline connecting the Geelong-Ballarat region.
Many argue that in privatising Victoria's water resources and creating a market to trade water between regions, the State Government is divesting itself from its core human rights responsibilities to ensure potable water to the population it represents. This would come at great environmental cost, increase energy usage, decrease efficience, ignore sustainable water management options and increase end-user water costs, placing water privatisation as a high risk to water security in Victoria, despite its acceptance by the state government.
Queensland The Queensland government has developed the SEQ Water Grid, to enhance the state's water security with the Western Corridor Recycled Water Project being a key part. The Gold Coast Desalination Plant which has been built at Tugun on the Gold Coast, is another project that supplies water to markets in the South East Queensland region. The Queensland government investigated the possibility of building a pipeline from the Northern Rivers of New South Wales to South East Queensland to facilitate water trade between these regions.
Major initiatives for increased rural water security
Murray Darling Basin