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https://theconversation.com/excessive-water-extractions-not-climate-change-are-most-to-blame-for-the-darling-river-drying-192621>
"You may recall when, at the height of summer in 2019, more than a million fish
floated to the surface of the Darling River’s Menindee Lakes. Iconic Murray cod
and silver perch were among the dead.
A couple of months later, an expert investigation concluded excessive upstream
water extractions, compounded by the ongoing drought, were to blame.
In another investigation in 2020, the Murray-Darling Basin Inspector-General
reported he was informed that water theft, lack of compliance, unsustainable
water extraction rules, and floodplain harvesting were driving the northern
basin’s declines in stream flow – the measured volume of water flowing in a
river or stream over a given period of time.
And yet, there appears to be a widely held view that we can place most of the
blame of drying rivers on climate change. So what’s the truth? And why does it
matter?
Our new research investigated the effects of climate change and water resource
development on the Darling River over the past 40 years. We found much of the
recent decline of river (stream) flow has not been because of climate change,
but almost certainly a result of increased water extractions.
This is important, because naming climate change as the primary culprit for
drying rivers may let water managers, ministers and irrigation lobbyists off
the hook for failing to effectively control water consumption.
Our point isn’t that climate change is not happening – it’s here, it’s now and
it’s global in its devastation. But, our research shows climate change
shouldn’t be used as a “get out of jail free” card to excuse bad
decision-making and poor planning decisions."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
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mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
