Water Transfers

Water Transfers

Many regions and countries faced with increasing populations are finding them- selves short of water.
One solution to water shortages is to divert water from one drainage basin to another.
Large-scale transfers of water can be achieved by diverting a river or by constructing a large canal to carry available water from one basin to another.
Two very different case studies illustrate the environmental and political risks of water transfer.
The Snowy Mountains Scheme in Australia has followed a traditional path, while the Turkey/Israel case study shows how interna- tional proposals are easily derailed by environmental and political change.
The Snowy Mountains Scheme
1. The Snowy Mountains Scheme in the Kosciuszko National Park is the largest engineering project in Australia and one of the most complex hydroelectric schemes in the world, with 16 major dams, seven power stations and a network of tunnels, pipelines and aqueducts.
2. The scheme collects and diverts water so that it can be used by the power stations to create electricity.
3. The water then flows west into the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers to irrigate farms and provide water for communities in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia
4. Work began in 1949 and finished in 1974.
5. A number of negative consequences have gradu- ally emerged.
6. The creation of storage lakes, such as Lake Eucumbene, has destroyed valuable wildlife habitats, and in some places the Snowy River flow has fallen to only 1% of its original discharge
7. Groundwater overdraft and salinisation problems resulting from this low flow and irrigation have adversely affected farming in the Murray lowlands.
8. Water scarcity has set farmers against city dwellers as they compete for supplies.
9. The political fallout has forced the governments of New South Wales and Victoria to restore some of the flow in the Snowy River and to invest in water-saving projects.
10. The aim has been to protect farmers from the worst effects of water shortages.
11. Record droughts in Australia in recent years triggered by El Niño events have all but used up the water allocations of the Snowy Mountains Scheme.
Water transfers
1. Israel’s Hydrological Service has warned that the country’s water reserves are being severely stretched as aquifers become salinised and water levels in the Sea of Galilee fall.
2. Demand currently stands at 1.5 billion m3 per year.
3. Turkey appears to have surplus water that could be taken from the Mangavat River and sold to Israel.
4. The following chronology illustrates how the water transfer might be achieved:
  1. December 2001 – Israel and Turkey plan an undersea water pipeline link via Northern Cyprus.
  2. August 2002 – Israel begins talks with Turkey to import 50 million m3 of treated water each year using tankers.
  3. July 2004 – Syria objects to Turkish plans because Turkey has built reservoirs that retain water along the Tigris and Euphrates.
  4. May 2005 – Israel and Turkey discuss once again the possibility of an undersea pipeline.
  5. April 2006 – the water pipeline deal is scrapped as fears of terrorism grow and the costs of desali- nating seawater fall.
  6. June 2007 – Turkey proposes a ‘peace bridge overland pipeline to link all middle east states.
  7. July 2008 – Official figures suggest Turkey is expe- riencing increasing drought and water shortages of its own, the outcome of global warming and poor management.

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	Created by Jodie Goodacre about 11 years ago