About the Catchment Area : Issues & Problems

Water Quantity - Water for human purposes.

Early South Australians settled along the creeks and in areas where undergound water was very close to the surface and easily obtained from wells or shallow bores. As the population of the State increased many of these resources were exhausted or polluted and the growing population required more water than the local reservoir systems could provide from rain that fell in the Adelaide Hills catchments.

South Australia then looked to the River Murray to provide the water for the continued development of the State. The River Murray provides South Australia with:

• 40% of its water in a wet year.
• 60% of its water in an average year.
• 90% of its water in a dry year.

Water for the environment
All life depends on water. In aquatic ecosystems this dependence is absolute and changes in stream flow can have an almost immediate impact on the health of that ecosystem. To maintain health, aquatic ecosystems require a certain level of stream flow. The amount of flow required can be referred to as an environmental flow.

The concept of the environment being a legitimate user of water and therefore requiring its own allocation is relatively new. However, developments in catchment management and legislation indicate that the concept is becoming increasingly accepted across many parts of Australia. The Onkaparinga Catchment Water Management Plan recognises the environment as a legitimate water user through its Water For The Environment program.

Go to "Projects - Water Requirements" to learn more about this exciting project.

Information Sources
Information on water quality sourced from
Gail E. Cordy, U.S. Department of the Interior/U.S. Geological Survey - March 2001
Website: http://water.usgs.gov/pubs/FS/fs-027-01/

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