(W) Water stress in a HIC - the Murray Darling Basin

Question 1

Describe the location of the Murray-Darling basin

Answer 1

• south east Australia
• 50km north of Melbourne
• covers a vast area

Question 2

over abstraction

Answer 2

more water being abstracted/taken from the ground than the environment can deal with

Question 3

causes of over abstraction in the MDB (6)

Answer 3

• a demand for water from farmers upstream
• rising population causing more demand
• national shortage of water, so more is needed in other of the country
• over-allocation, farmers have been promised too much water
• lack of management of water distribution
• less rainfall due to climate change

Question 4

social impact (2)

Answer 4

• farmers lose a reliable source of income, which causes stress
• people may lose their jobs if there is not enough water to keep farming

Question 5

economic impacts (2)

Answer 5

• farmers lose produce due to increased salinity levels, so earn less money
• some farmers have to import water by trucks to keep livestock alive, so the cost of produce increases

Question 6

environmental impacts (6)

Answer 6

• natural floodplains no longer flood
• red gum trees die due to lack of water
• natural habitats are destroyed due to increased salinity levels
• between 50% - 80% of native wetland birds/fish are now extinct in the area
• salinity levels along the Murray River are increasing due to irrigation and drought
• groundwater supplies fall as farmers extract 4% more each year

Question 7

causes of water shortages (6)

Answer 7

• there has been a 5x increase in population and water extraction since the 1920s
• 2 million people depend on the basin for food and water
• the MDB provides 85% of the country’s irrigation water
• Australians are the greatest per capita consumers of water in the world
• rainfall is seasonal, unreliable and uneven in the basin
• the MDB includes different climate zones (e.g. sub-tropical, semi-arid)