Save rivers from irrigators
Letter; 17/9/08; http://blogs.theaustralian.news.com.au/letters/index.php/ theaustralian/comments/save_rivers_from_irrigators/
The irrigators of this country have never let the facts stand in the way of their self-interest (”Farmers lobby for city water cuts”, 16/9), but let’s look at the numbers again anyway and see if we can’t get through to them. All the cities and towns in the Murray-Darling Basin use 2 per cent of the available water—irrigators account for over 83 per cent. So the entire consumption of all cities and towns is used up by irrigators in less than nine days. Cotton, irrigated cereal-cropping (including rice) and irrigated pasture together account for over 35 per cent of consumption. Banning these unsustainable crops for just one year would free up enough water to allow every city and town in the basin to double its consumption for the next 17 1/2 years. Legislating permanently against these activities would forever end basin water shortages, leaving plenty for vegetables, fruit, nuts and even wine grapes, as well as the cities and towns. Or by simply removing the tax deductibility of water costs to all irrigators, we could slash basin-wide consumption by at least 10 per cent—leaving plenty for the big smoke and the environment. The rivers need saving from the irrigators, not for them, starting now. Stephan Hammat; Prospect, SA
Tags: Australia, Environment, Murray-Darling Basin