Australia at risk of running out of water and lands being ruined by rising salt levels
U.S. Water News Online
CANBERRA, Australia -- Australia is at risk of running out of water and its land is being ruined by rising salt levels, according to two surveys released recently.
The studies by the federal government's National Land and Water Resources Audit found a third of the nation's groundwater reserves are being overused and 44 million acres of farming land will be hit by salinity within 50 years. Almost 14 million acres of farmland is already salt-affected, the reports said.
The studies showed that on land within Australia's Murray-Darling river basin, which produces most of the nation's food and export crops, salinity is costing communities at least $123 million a year.
As trees are cleared along rivers, water tables rise, bringing salt naturally present in the ground up to the surface. The salt contaminates agricultural land and is washed into rivers by rainfall.
About 100 towns in three states will also encounter salinity problems in the future which would undermine houses, roads, footpaths and sewerage pipes, the reports said.
The studies also found that more than a quarter of Australia's rivers are having water taken from them at unsustainable rates.
Agriculture Minister Warren Truss said the reports expose the extent of problems facing country areas.
Truss said the audit also showed that there are no quick-fix solutions to the spread of salinity or the overuse of water resources.
In October last year, the federal government committed $345 million to fixing the nation's salinity and water quality problems.
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