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Inter-Basin Water TransferCase Studies from Australia, United States, Canada, China and India
Since the Second World War increasing demands for irrigation, domestic and industrial
water have generated a massive growth world-wide in the number of large water
infrastructure projects. Many of these projects involved the transfer of water from basins
considered to have surplus water to those where the demand for water has exceeded or is
expected to exceed supplies. While these inter-basin water transfers have substantially
contributed to the overall development of numerous countries, they also have caused
environmental, social, cultural and economic problems.
Using the experience of inter-basin water transfer projects in Australia, United States,
Canada, China and India this book examines case studies within the diverse
geographical, climatic, economic, and policy regimes operating in these countries. The
first part of the book is an overview of world challenges with respect to water resources
and discusses the key issues in inter-basin water transfers. The second part examines the
water resources of Australia, the driest inhabited continent. It describes the benefits and
impacts of a number of inter-basin transfer projects developed or proposed in Australia.
The third part explores inter-basin water transfer projects in the United States, Canada,
China and India, examining their benefits and impacts within these nations’ contrasting
economies and governance systems. The fourth part consists of numerous appendices.
The book concludes by highlighting the successes and failures of the case examined, and
provides pointers for the future of inter-basin water transfer in meeting urgent and
growing water demands. This comprehensive and well-illustrated text will be of great
interest to professionals and researchers in the fields of hydrology, water resources,
and to those engaged in environmental science, policy and regulation.
FEREIDOUN GHASSEMI is Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Resource and Environmental
Studies, The Australian National University. He is a Fellow of the Modelling and
Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand and was recipient of the G. Burton
Medal from the Hydrological Society of Canberra in 1995. Dr Ghassemi has more than
35 years of experience in various aspects of water resource research in Australia, France,
Iran and Vietnam.
IAN WHITE is Professor of Water Resources at the Centre for Resource and
Environmental Studies, The Australian National University. He is a Fellow of the
American Geophysical Union and the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences
and Engineering. Professor White was awarded a Centenary Medal for service to
Australian society in environmental science and technology in 2003 and has twice (in
1994 and 1997) received the G. Burton Publication Medal from the Hydrological Society
of Canberra. He has worked in water and land resources in Australia, the United States,
Pacific small island nations, Vietnam, China and France.
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I NTERNAT IONAL HYDROLOGY SER I E S
The International Hydrological Programme (IHP) was established by the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1975 as the successor to the International Hydrological Decade. The
long-term goal of the IHP is to advance our understanding of processes occurring in the water cycle and to
integrate this knowledge into water resources management. The IHP is the only UN science and educational
programme in the field of water resources, and one of its outputs has been a steady stream of technical and
information documents aimed at water specialists and decision-makers.
The International Hydrology Series has been developed by the IHP in collaboration with Cambridge University
Press as a major collection of research monographs, synthesis volumes and graduate texts on the subject of water.
Authoritative and international in scope, the various books within the series all contribute to the aims of the IHP in
improving scientific and technical knowledge of fresh-water processes, in providing research know-how and in
stimulating the responsible management of water resources.
ED ITOR IAL ADV I SORY BOARD
Secretary to the Advisory Board
Dr Michael Bonell Division of Water Science, UNESCO, I rue Miollis, Paris 75732, France
Members of the Advisory Board
Professor B. P. F. Braga Jr Centro Technologica de Hindaulica, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Professor G. Dagan Faculty of Engineering. Tel Aviv University, Israel
Dr J. Khouri Water Resources Division, Arab Centre for Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands, Damascus, Syria
Dr G. Leavesley US Geological Survey, Water Resources Division, Denver Federal Center, Colorado, USA
Dr E. Morris Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge, UK
Professor L. Oyebande Department of Geography and Planning, University of Lagos, Nigeria
Professor S. Sorooshian Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Irvine,
California, USA
Professor K. Takeuchi Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Yamanashi University, Japan
Professor D.E. Walling Department of Geography, University of Exeter, UK
Professor I. White Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies, Australian National University, Canberra,
Australia
T ITLES IN PR INT IN THE SER IE S
M. Bonnell, M.M. Hufschmidt and J. S. Gladwell Hydrology and Water Management in the Humid Tropics:
Hydrological Research Issues and Strategies for Water Management
Z.W. Kundzewicz New Uncertainty Concepts in Hydrology
R.A. Feddes Space and Time Scale Variability and Interdependencies in the Various Hydrological Processes
J. Gibbert, J. Mathieu and F. Fournier Groundwater and Surface Water Ecotones: Biological and Hydrological
Interactions and Management Options
G. Dagan and S. Neuman Subsurface Flow and Transport: A Stochastic Approach
J. C. van Dam Impacts of Climate Change and Climate Variability on Hydrological Regimes
J. J. Bogardi and Z.W. Kundzewicz Risk, Reliability, Uncertainty and Robustness of Water Resources Systems
G. Kaser and H. Osmaston Tropical Glaciers
I. A. Shiklomanov and John C. Rodda World Water Resources at the Beginning of the Twenty-First Century
A. S. Issar Climate Changes during the Holocene and their Impact on Hydrological Systems
M. Bonnell and L.A. Bruijnzeel Forests, Water and People in the Humid Tropics: Past, Present and Future
Hydrological Research for Integrated Land and Water Management
F. Ghassemi and I. White Inter-Basin Water Transfer: Case Studies from Australia, United States, Canada, China
and India
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INTER-BASIN WATER TRANSFER:
Case Studies from Australia, United States, Canada, China and India
By:
Fereidoun Ghassemi and Ian White
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cambridge university press Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town,Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi, Tokyo, Mexico City
Cambridge University PressTh e Edinburgh Building, Cambridge cb2 8ru, UK
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.orgInformation on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781107404212
© Cambridge University Press 2007
Th is publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published 2007First paperback edition 2011
A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data
Ghassemi, F. (Fereidoun), 1940- Inter-basin water transfer : case studies from Australia, United States, Canada,China, and India / by Fereidoun Ghassemi and Ian White. p. cm. – (International hydrology series) Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn-13: 978-0-521-86969-0 (hardback) isbn-10: 0-521-86969-2 (hardback)1. Water transfer–Case studies. 2. Water-supply–Management–Case studies. 3. Waterconsumption–Forecasting–Case studies. I. White, Ian, 1943- II. Title. III. Series.
TC409.G49 2006 363.6´1–dc22 2006034149
isbn 978-0-521-86969-0 Hardbackisbn 978-1-107-40421-2 Paperback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
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Dedication
This book is dedicated to the memory of Benedict (Ben) Chifley, the Post-War visionary Labor Prime Minister
of Australia (July 1945 to December 1949) and founder of the Australian National University 60 years ago on
the 1st August 1946 who understood the importance of water in Australia and had the courage and tenacity to act
on that understanding.
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NoteThroughout this book:
The Australian dollar� is represented by $
The US dollar is represented by US$, and
The Canadian dollar is represented by CAN$
� In February 1966 the Australian currency system was
converted from the British system of pounds to
Australian dollars, which were worth
half a pound.
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Disclaimer
The authors, publisher and the Centre for Resource and
Environmental Studies, the Australian National University,
would like to advise that the information contained in this
publication is based on scientific publications and research
results. As such, this information may be incomplete or not
suitable to be used in any specific situation. No reliance or
actions should be made on that information without seeking
prior expert advice.
The authors, publisher and the Centre for Resource and
Environmental Studies, the Australian National University
exclude all liability to any individual person, organisation,
government department, research institution, and others for
any consequences including but not limited to all losses,
damages, costs, expenses and any other compensation, arising
directly or indirectly from using this publication (in part or as
a whole) and any information or material contained in it.
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Contents
Foreword page xv
Overview and Scope xix
Acknowledgements xxiii
List of Abbreviations xxv
Part I The Challenges 1
1 World population and pressures on land, water
and food resources 3
1.1 Population 3
1.2 Dryland areas 4
1.3 Extent of human-induced land
degradation 4
1.4 Water resources 8
1.5 Agricultural land use 13
1.6 Food and fibre production 15
1.7 Feeding the world population 16
1.8 World water and food to 2025 17
1.9 Challenge Program on water and food 18
1.10 Conclusions 19
References 20
2 Issues in inter-basin water transfer 22
2.1 Introduction 22
2.2 Knowledge requirements and inter-basin
water transfer 23
2.3 Planning and public participation 27
2.4 Assessment of the impacts 28
2.5 Environmental flow requirements
of rivers 31
2.6 Social and cultural issues 35
2.7 Economic appraisal 37
2.8 Water rights 38
2.9 Conflicts and their resolution 40
2.10 Integrated assessment and modelling 43
2.11 Conclusions 45
References 45
Part II Inter-basin Water Transfer in Australia 49
3 Land and water resources of Australia 51
3.1 Geography 51
3.2 Population 51
3.3 Climate 54
3.4 Climate change 56
3.5 Drought 59
3.6 Flood 60
3.7 Soil resources 61
3.8 Agricultural land use 64
3.9 Water resources 65
3.10 Environmental degradation 70
3.11 Management reforms and programmes 74
3.12 Estimates of future water requirements 79
3.13 National water initiative 84
3.14 Potential role of inter-basin
water transfer 85
3.15 Conclusions 87
References 87
4 The Snowy Mountains hydro-electric scheme 91
4.1 Location 91
4.2 Hydrology 91
4.3 Decline in precipitation 91
4.4 Historical background 92
4.5 Snowy Mountains Act 95
4.6 Cost of the scheme 96
4.7 Technical features of the scheme 96
4.8 Water releases 97
4.9 Electricity production 97
4.10 Workforce 99
4.11 Environmental impacts of the scheme 101
4.12 Corporatisation of the scheme 101
4.13 The Snowy water inquiry 102
4.14 The environmental flow agreement 104
4.15 Precipitation enhancement project 104
ix
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4.16 Conclusions 105
References 105
5 Inter-basin water transfer from coastal basins
of New South Wales 107
5.1 Introduction 107
5.2 Environmental problems of the North
Coast river basins 107
5.3 Proposed diversion schemes 110
5.4 The scoping study 122
5.5 Clearance scheme and water supply
of Adelaide 122
5.6 Conclusions 123
References 123
6 The Bradfield and Reid schemes in Queensland 125
Section A: The Bradfield scheme 125
6.1 Introduction 125
6.2 Water availability 125
6.3 Outline of the Bradfield scheme 125
6.4 Costs and benefits of the scheme 126
6.5 The 1947 review of the scheme 126
6.6 The expanded Bradfield scheme 129
6.7 The 1982 review of the scheme 131
6.8 Bradfield scheme and water supply of
Adelaide 134
Section B: The Reid scheme 135
6.9 Introduction 135
6.10 Description of the scheme 135
6.11 Cost of the scheme 137
6.12 Expected benefits of the scheme 137
6.13 Conclusions 137
References 137
7 Three schemes for flooding Lake Eyre 139
7.1 Introduction 139
7.2 Characteristics of the Lake Eyre Basin 139
7.3 Port Augusta�Lake Eyre canal scheme 144
7.4 The Great Boomerang Scheme 147
7.5 Flooding Lake Eyre with waters of
the Great Artesian Basin 149
7.6 Conclusions 149
References 150
8 The Goldfields pipeline scheme of
Western Australia 151
8.1 Introduction 151
8.2 Water shortage 151
8.3 Pipeline proposals 152
8.4 Conclusions 162
References 164
9 Supplying Perth, Western Australia with water:
the Kimberley pipeline scheme 165
9.1 Introduction 165
9.2 Water conservation strategy 165
9.3 Long-term water supply options
for Perth 165
9.4 Perth’s water supply options 167
9.5 Inter-basin water transfer from
Kimberley 169
9.6 Bulk water transport by ship from
Kimberley to Perth 177
9.7 Seawater desalination for Perth’s
water supply 177
9.8 Conclusions 178
References 179
10 Other schemes in Australia 180
10.1 Introduction 180
Section A: River Murray pipelines in
South Australia 180
10.2 Introduction 180
10.3 Morgan�Whyalla pipelines 181
10.4 Mannum�Adelaide pipeline 183
10.5 Swan Reach�Paskeville pipeline 183
10.6 Tailem Bend�Keith pipeline 183
10.7 Murray Bridge�Onkaparinga pipeline 183
Section B: Mareeba�Dimbulah irrigation scheme,
Queensland 184
10.8 Introduction 184
10.9 History of the scheme 184
10.10 Agricultural development 186
10.11 Water allocation and water use 186
10.12 Power generation and town water supply 186
10.13 Water quality issues of the Tinaroo
Falls Lake 187
10.14 Barron water resources plan 187
10.15 Possibilities for future expansion 188
10.16 Impacts of water resources development 188
Section C: Domestic and industrial water
supply in North Queensland 188
10.17 Water supply from Eungella Dam 188
10.18 Pipelines for water supply of Townsville
and Thuringowa 189
x CONTENTS
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10.19 Pipeline to Bowen area 189
Section D: Water supply to the Broken Hill
mines and township, New South Wales 189
10.20 Introduction 189
10.21 Water supply 191
10.22 Conclusions 197
References 198
Part III Inter-basin Water Transfer in Other
Selected Countries 199
11 Inter-basin water transfer in the United States
of America 201
Section A: Overview of geography, population,
land and water 201
11.1 Geography 201
11.2 Population 202
11.3 Precipitation and climate 202
11.4 Land use 203
11.5 Water resources 204
11.6 Flood 207
11.7 Drought 208
11.8 Climate change impacts 209
11.9 Water transfer projects in the
United States 209
11.10 Ambitious plans for water transfer 211
11.11 Federal water plan for the west
(water 2025) 212
Section B: Inter-basin water transfer in California 215
11.12 Geography and population 215
11.13 Water supply and demand 215
11.14 Water transfer projects 217
11.15 Major management programs and
strategies 229
Section C: Inter-basin water transfer from the
Colorado River 240
11.16 Colorado River Basin 240
11.17 Water transfer projects 243
11.18 Conclusions 257
References 258
12 Inter-basin water transfer in Canada 261
Section A: Overview of geography, population,
land and water 261
12.1 Geography 261
12.2 Population 261
12.3 Economy 262
12.4 Climate and precipitation 262
12.5 Land cover and use 263
12.6 Water resources 264
12.7 Flood 269
12.8 Drought 270
12.9 Hydro-power generation 270
12.10 Climate change impacts 270
12.11 Management of water resources 272
Section B: Inter-basin water transfer projects 275
12.12 Introduction 275
12.13 Examples of water transfer projects 276
12.14 Great Lakes Basin diversions 281
12.15 Impacts of the diversion projects 281
12.16 Learning from Canadian experience 284
12.17 Large-scale water export proposals 284
12.18 Water export policy 290
12.19 Conclusions 292
References 293
13 Inter-basin water transfer in China 295
Section A: Overview of geography, population,
land and water 295
13.1 Geography 295
13.2 Population 296
13.3 Economy 296
13.4 Climate and precipitation 297
13.5 Land cover and use 297
13.6 Irrigation 298
13.7 Water resources 299
13.8 Flood 304
13.9 Drought 305
13.10 Climate change impacts 305
13.11 Sustainable water resources development 305
13.12 Water conservation 306
Section B: Inter-basin water transfer projects 307
13.13 Introduction 307
13.14 South to North Water Transfer Project 307
13.15 Action plan for the North China Plain 314
13.16 Conclusions 316
References 316
14 India: The National River-Linking Project 319
Section A: Overview of geography, population,
land and water 319
14.1 Geography 319
14.2 Population 319
CONTENTS xi
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14.3 Economy 319
14.4 Climate and precipitation 320
14.5 Irrigation 321
14.6 Water resources 323
14.7 Flood 326
14.8 Drought 326
14.9 Climate change impacts 326
14.10 Impacts of dam building 327
14.11 National water policy 329
14.12 Inter-state water disputes 330
Section B: The National River-Linking Project 330
14.13 Introduction 330
14.14 Existing projects 330
14.15 River-linking proposals of the 1970s 331
14.16 The National River-Linking Project 331
14.17 Conclusions 342
References 344
15 Inter-basin water transfer, successes, failures
and the future 345
15.1 Introduction 345
15.2 Benefits of inter-basin water transfer
projects 346
15.3 Impacts of inter-basin water transfer
projects 350
15.4 Mega-scale water transfer proposals 353
15.5 Necessary knowledge for inter-basin
water transfer 353
15.6 Inter-basin water transfer, water
conservation and new sources of supply 354
15.7 Inter-basin water transfer and cross
jurisdictional agreements 355
15.8 Recommendations of the World
Commission on Dams 356
15.9 Concluding comments 356
Part IV Appendices 359
Appendix A Some of the Australian pioneers of
inter-basin water transfer 361
A.1 Bradfield, John Job Crew (1867�1943) 361
A.2 Chifley, Joseph Benedict ‘‘Ben’’
(1885�1951) 362
A.3 Forrest, Sir John (1847�1918) 364
A.4 Hudson, Sir William (1896�1978) 366
A.5 Idriess, Ion Llewellyn (1889�1979) 367
A.6 Menzies, Sir Robert Gordon
(1894�1978) 368
A.7 O’Connor, Charles Yelverton
(1843�1902) 369
Appendix B Construction timetable of the
Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme 371
Appendix C Details of diversion schemes from
the Clarence River Basin 374
C.2 Details of diversion schemes from the
Macleay River Basin 376
Appendix D Chronological table of the most important
events in the Goldfields Pipeline Scheme,
Western Australia 377
Appendix E Flooding of the Sahara depressions 379
E.1 Introduction 379
E.2 Roudaire’s expeditions 379
E.3 Commission of inquiry 380
E.4 Continuation of the inland sea affair
(1882�1936) 381
E.5 Developments from 1957 to 1968 381
E.6 The joint Algeria and Tunisia project
(1983�85) 382
References 383
Appendix F The Ord River Irrigation Scheme 384
F.1 Introduction 384
F.2 Hydrology and water quality of the
Ord River 386
F.3 Economic evaluation of the scheme 386
F.4 Recent gross values of agricultural
production 388
F.5 Hydro-power generation 388
F.6 Stage 2 of the scheme 388
References 392
Appendix G The West Kimberley Irrigation Scheme 393
G.1 Introduction 393
G.2 Groundwater allocation and
stakeholders concerns 393
G.3 Cultural values of groundwater 395
G.4 Cotton research 395
G.5 Benefits of the WAI proposal 395
G.6 Progress of the feasibility study 396
G.7 Failure of the proposal 396
References 396
xii CONTENTS
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Appendix H Some other water transfer schemes
in Australia 397
H.1 Introduction 397
H.2 Shoalhaven Diversion Scheme 397
H.3 Thomson Diversion Scheme 403
H.4 Hydro-power generation in Tasmania 405
References 412
Appendix I Selected technical features of the Central
Valley Project in California 413
Reference 414
Appendix J Selected technical features of the State
Water Project in California 415
Reference 416
Appendix K Selected characteristics of some
of the completed or proposed inter-basin
water transfer projects in Australia, United States,
Canada, China and India, in chronological order 417
Glossary 423
Index 429
CONTENTS xiii
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Foreword
A fundamental problem that is facing the water profession
at present is its inability to look to the future. An implicit
assumption has been that future water availability, use
and demand patterns will basically be similar to what have
mostly been witnessed in the past, with perhaps only incre-
mental changes. The water profession has been repeating ad
nauseaum for the last four decades that ‘‘business as usual’’
is not an option but continues to behave as if there is no
other option. The only difference that can be noted during
the past decade is that the rhetoric of ‘‘business as usual’’ is
not an option has intensified immensely, but it has not
resulted in any perceptible change in terms of actions.
Based on the research carried out at the Third World
Centre for Water Management, it can be said with consi-
derable confidence that the world of water management will
change more during the next 20 years, compared to the past
2000 years. The structures of water availability, use patterns
and overall demands will change radically because of many
factors, some known but the others mostly unknown. The
factors that are mostly being ignored at present are likely
to have increasingly more impacts on water-related issues
during the coming decades. Among these factors are
radically changing population dynamics (declining popula-
tion in many countries, population stabilisation in other
countries, increasing number of elderly people all over the
world, and especially in China during the post-2025 period,
etc.), concurrent urbanisation and ruralisation, globalisation
and free trade in agricultural and industrial products, infor-
mation and communication revolution, advances in technol-
ogy (especially in areas like biotechnology and desalination),
scramble for energy security by the major nations, and
uncertainties associated with climate change. All of these will
have major implications for water planning and management
in the coming decades. Yet, none of these issues are being
seriously considered at present.
These uncertainties are especially important for consider-
ing future major inter-basin water transfer (IBWT) projects.
These projects often have gestation periods of 15 years or
more. Thus, unlike in the past, when it was comparatively
easy to predict future developments, and thus water require-
ments, the forecasting process will become exceedingly more
complex in the coming years. If the future water demands
cannot be predicted with any degree of certainty, it will
not be an easy task to analyse the needs, desirability and
cost-effectiveness of the proposed new IBWT projects.
Let us take only one example: the current on-going
discussions under the Doha round of negotiations under the
World Trade Organisation, and how this activity that is
seemingly unrelated to water could have major implications
in the future on the water sector. Irrespective of whatever
may be the final results of the Doha round, it is now certain
that agricultural subsidies and tariffs will be reduced quite
significantly within the next 10 to 20 years. The only question
is when and by how much. By 2020, only 14 years from now,
we can say with certainty that we shall see considerable
progress in terms of reduction in agricultural subsidies,
even though we cannot say definitively when exactly this will
occur, or by how much. Because of these important changes,
the structure of agricultural production in numerous
countries will change very substantially, along with their
agricultural water requirements, which globally is the largest
user of water at present.
When our Centre was requested to undertake an
independent review of the Spanish Plan to transfer water
from the Ebro River to the southern coastal areas of Spain,
our conclusions were that if we consider the conditions that
are likely to prevail during the post-2020 period, when the
Plan may become operational, it may be difficult to justify
even the existing agricultural water use patterns, let alone
expect higher water uses. This is because the structure of
water demand is likely to change radically in Western Europe
because of new global agricultural trade agreements, chang-
ing socio-political considerations, and economic and tech-
nological developments. In addition, the officially estimated
xv
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cost of delivering per cubic metre of the Ebro water to the
Levante basins is nearly 50 percent higher than the current
cost of desalination of sea water. Accordingly, even though
the Spanish Parliament had earlier approved the Ebro water
transfer, it later decided to cancel this plan.
The Ebro example, however, should not be construed to
mean that in the future no inter-basin water transfer schemes
will be necessary. Rather, each case must be carefully
considered and analysed in terms of future water require-
ments and societal expectations when the projects are
expected to be completed, and not on the basis of the
prevailing conditions when the planning starts. The two sets
of conditions are likely to be very different, a fact that has
thus far been mostly ignored by the water professionals. If
after objective analyses, it is considered that an IBWT
project is necessary and can be justified on economic, social
and environmental terms, its construction should proceed.
A major problem facing the developing world at present is
the knee-jerk reactions of certain activist groups, primarily
from the Western countries, that large scale water develop-
ments are no longer necessary, and that the water require-
ments of the future can be taken care of by small-scale
projects like rainwater harvesting. It is difficult to have any
sympathy with such a dogmatic view. First, large dams or
small projects are not an either/or proposition. At a certain
location and at a certain time, a large project may prove to
be the best solution. Equally, at another place, a small
project may be more appropriate. Many times, the two
alternatives may even have to co-exist. An objective analysis
of past water development projects from different parts of
the world indicates that small can be beautiful, but it can also
be ugly. Similarly, big can be magnificent, but it can also
be a disaster. Each case must be judged by its site-specific
conditions and its own merits. Dogmatic views are invariably
wrong and socially unproductive on a long-term basis. For a
heterogeneous and rapidly changing world, there is no other
alternative but to consider plurality of paradigms. One size
simply does not fit all.
In addition, a vast majority of water professionals and
international institutions do not understand the water
problems of developing countries, all of which are in tropic
and semi-tropical climates with pronounced seasonality in
precipitation patterns. This is in sharp contrast to developed
countries, all of which (except Australia) are in temperate
climates with a much more even distribution of precipitation
within the year, and also between the years.
Let us take the case of India, much of which receives its
annual rainfall in less than 100 hours (not necessarily
consecutive). The main water problem of India thus is how
to store this immense amount of rainfall over such a short
period so that water is available for various uses throughout
the year. For the large Indian cities, there is simply no other
alternative but to build large dams so that water is available
on a reliable basis throughout the year. In other parts of
India, depending upon the local conditions, rainwater
harvesting may prove to be the best solution. Thus, the
main questions with large dams, which are invariably
components of IBWT projects, is not whether they should
be built, since there may not be any alternative to them under
certain conditions, but to ensure that they are built and
managed in a way that is economically efficient, socially
desirable and environmentally acceptable.
Another important problem in the water resources area is
the lack of reliable and basic information. For example,
current estimates of global water withdrawal figures can at
best be of very limited use. First, we do not even know with
any degree of reliability how much water a major country
like India or China withdraws, let alone many other smaller
countries. Thus, one has no idea about the accuracy of the
current global water abstraction and use estimates. Almost
certainly, they are all wide of the mark.
Second, the quantity of water abstracted, even if this
estimate was known reliably, is increasingly becoming less
and less meaningful for planning and management purposes.
Water is not like oil which can be used only once. Some have
estimated that each drop of the Colorado River water is used
several times. If the management practices can be improved,
the extent of water reuse will increase very substantially. As
water is reused more and more, both formally and
informally, the information on how much water is being
withdrawn becomes increasingly less and less relevant. Even
for highly developed countries of Western Europe, or the
United States, we have only very limited information as to
the quantity of water that is being reused. For developing
countries, we simply do not have any idea. All we can say is
that the amount that is being reused is very high, and the
extent of reuse is increasing everywhere.
In this context, a few comments on the World Commission
on Dams are appropriate. Regrettably, the report of the
Commission leaves much to be desired. Not surprisingly,
one of its two god-fathers, the World Bank, did not endorse
the report, and the major dam-building countries like China,
India and Turkey, have very specifically rejected this report.
Some of its views are fundamentally erroneous. For
example, the Commission has claimed that 40�80 million
people have been displaced by large dams. No knowledge-
able and objective expert will accept even the lower estimate
of 40 million, which is wide of the mark. The total estimate is
likely to be very significantly less. To claim that it could be as
high as 80 million is patently ridiculous. The main problem
xvi FOREWORD
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with the so-called knowledge-base developed by the
Commission is that it is full of chaff, but it may contain
some wheat. However, absence of serious peer reviews of its
case studies has meant that it is impossible to separate the
wheat from the chaff.
The authors of this book, Fereidoun Ghassemi and Ian
White, have done a remarkable job in assembling and
analysing an immense amount of data on inter-basin water
transfer projects from Australia, United States, Canada,
China and India. Many of these data are not easily available.
Some of the information like those on the Australian
pioneers of IBWT is mostly unknown at present. Thus, the
book should be of special significance to all the water
professionals interested in IBWT. I am thus confident that
the water profession will consider this book to be an
important contribution to the literature.
Atizapan, Mexico Asit K. Biswas
April 2006 President Third World
Centre for Water Management
and the 2006 Stockholm Water
Prize Laureate
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Overview and Scope
Large water infrastructure projects were completed through-
out the world during the twentieth century to meet the
increasing demands of burgeoning populations for irrigation
and domestic water supplies. These projects saw the cons-
truction of dams, reservoirs, pipelines, pumping stations,
hydro-power plants and irrigation systems within river
basins. In several countries, major and in some cases
almost heroic, projects were undertaken to transfer water
from basins considered to have surplus water to basins where
water demand exceeded or was expected to exceed the
available supply. This book compares the contexts and
experiences in inter-basin water transfer in countries with
widely different water needs, population pressures, econo-
mies and forms of government.
Most large water infrastructure and inter-basin water
transfer projects in the past were the domain of engineers
and government bureaucrats. Many were undertaken with
minimal assessment of environmental or social impacts and
with rudimentary and in some cases doubtful cost�benefit
analyses. Community participation in such schemes was
either nonexistent or token. While many have benefited from
such schemes, there has often been marked inequity in the
distribution of benefits. There have been significant social,
economic and environmental impacts, with poor and
indigenous communities frequently bearing a dispropor-
tionate share of the impacts. Globally, millions of people
have been displaced by large water projects. The predicted
performance of water projects and projected cost recovery
and profitability has often proved illusory. Rivers and lakes
have dried to a trickle, aquatic ecosystems and biodiversity
have declined, and sediment delivery to floodplains has been
reduced while expensive dams have silted up. As a result of
these issues, the World Bank has been impelled to change its
policy and currently demands detailed impact assessment of
water resources development projects before approving their
funding. Furthermore, the World Commission on Dams,
following its extensive review of major water infrastructure
projects, has recommended seven strategic priorities and
related policy principles for making decisions on dam
construction and inter-basin water transfer.
The proposal early in the twentieth century in the United
States to build the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct to meet San
Francisco’s increasing demands for freshwater was possibly
the first inter-basin transfer scheme to face significant
opposition because of perceived adverse environmental
impacts. In 1913, that opposition failed to stop construction
and the dispute over its impacts continues to the present.
Communities, particularly in the developed world, have
become increasingly vocal over proposed water projects,
questioning needs, benefits, costs and impacts, demanding
better information, protection of the environment and social
and cultural values, and a voice in the decision process.
Proposals for the inter-basin transfer of water continue
to evoke heated disputes because of disagreements over
benefits, costs and impacts. For example, in the 2005
Western Australian State election, the US$9 billion inter-
basin water transfer proposal from the Kimberley region in
the north of the State to Perth in the south was a key and
deciding election issue which resulted in the defeat of the
opposition who supported the project. In these often lengthy
disputes, limited use has been made of analyses of previous
inter-basin transfer projects. The aim of this book is
to present as dispassionate an account as possible of the
history and technology of inter-basin water transfer under
contrasting conditions in Australia, the western United
Sates, Canada, China and India. These countries vary
dramatically in climate, from the driest inhabited continent
to one with the highest per capita annual quantity of
freshwater; in political systems, from centrally planned to
free market; and in different stages of economic develop-
ment. Our goal in this wide-ranging analysis is to draw
general lessons from the experiences of these widely diverse
countries in inter-basin water transfer so that past mistakes
will not be repeated.
In developed countries with relatively low rates of
population increase, such as Australia, the United Sates
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and Canada, priorities have now moved from increas-
ing water harvesting to meet untrammelled water demand
to water conservation, especially through improvements in
water use efficiency in all sectors of the economy and
particularly in irrigation. Emphasis is being placed on water
pricing and water trading and on the reuse of treated waste-
water, conjunctive use of surface and groundwater, precipi-
tation enhancement, rainwater harvesting, and to a lesser
extent desalination. In developing countries, with rapidly
expanding economies, increasing populations and urgent
water demands, such as China and India, the imperative is to
meet regional water and power needs. In such countries, and
in areas that are expected to experience decreases in water
availability due to global warming, inter-basin transfer of
water remains attractive.
This book is divided into four parts. Part I overviews
information about world water resources and summarises
the key issues that have arisen in inter-basin water transfer
and in large water infrastructure projects throughout the
world. It provides a framework for examining inter-basin
transfer proposals. Part II focuses on land and water scarcity
issues, policy changes and the Australian experience in inter-
basin transfer. Australia is undergoing the most profound
changes in water policy and strategy since federation in 1901.
These changes are based on the need for pricing mechanisms
to reflect the true costs in supplying water, and the need to
better balance water allocation between consumers and the
environment. Part III examines selected inter-basin transfers
in the United States, Canada, China and India. Finally,
Part IV consists of numerous appendices.
In Part I, Chapter 1 provides an overview of world
challenges, which includes topics such as: population, land
degradation, water resources and the extent of their develop-
ments, dams and transfer of water from one basin to another,
climate change and its impacts on water resources, agricul-
ture, and food production. Here, the limitations of the world’s
land and water resources, faced with an increasing population
and prospects of global warming, are explored. Chapter 2
describes major issues relevant to the inter-basin water
transfer including topography, geology, hydrology, environ-
mental considerations, land degradation, social and cultural
issues, economic appraisal, and conflicts and their resolution.
It concludes that inter-basin water transfer projects require
detailed multidisciplinary investigations and an integrated
approach in assessment of projects.
In Part II, Chapter 3 provides an introduction to
Australia’s geography, population, climate, agriculture,
water resources, and estimates of its future water require-
ments. This is a prelude to the following chapters on inter-
basin water transfer in Australia. Chapter 4 describes the
Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme, its history,
technical features, finance, and other related issues.
Chapter 5 describes numerous proposals developed for the
inland transfer of water from coastal river basins of New
South Wales, such as the Clarence, Macleay, Manning and
Tuross and outlines the reasons for their rejection. Chapter 6
details the Bradfield and the Reid schemes for inland
diversion of coastal rivers of Queensland. Chapter 7 describes
three schemes for flooding of Lake Eyre, located at the
centre of the continent, by diversion of surface water from
coastal rivers of Queensland, by seawater from South
Australia and by groundwater from the Great Artesian
Basin. The idea was inspired by a similar proposal for
flooding of the Sahara depressions in north Africa with
Mediterranean Sea water under the erroneous assumption
that this would change local rainfall and climate. Chapter 8
examines the history and construction of the Goldfields
Pipeline in Western Australia, the first major water transfer
project in Australia, completed in 1903. Chapter 9 examines
the politically contentious proposals for water transfer from
the Kimberley region in the north of Western Australia to
Perth and Adelaide. Chapter 10 covers a number of large
to relatively small projects for domestic, irrigation and
mining water supply in South Australia, Queensland and
New South Wales.
In Part III, Chapter 11 explores water transfer projects
in the United States. It reviews water transfer projects in
California, and from the Colorado River Basin to its
neighbouring states. This chapter outlines policies developed
by the Federal and State Governments for the better
management of their currently developed resources in
order to satisfy water requirements in the ensuing two or
three decades without building new dams and initiating inter-
basin water transfer projects. Chapter 12 covers inter-basin
water transfer projects in Canada, developed mainly for
hydro-power generation rather than for irrigation or
domestic water supply. Chapter 13 examines the South to
North Water Transfer Project in China planned to overcome
serious water shortage and environmental degradation in the
North China Plain. It also describes China’s continuing dam
construction and inter-basin water transfer projects, and its
efforts to implement water conservation measures. In
Chapter 14, India’s response to its growing water demands,
rapidly developing economy, and variable distribution of
water are discussed. Its highly controversial planned
National Rivers-Linking Project is considered. Finally,
Chapter 15 highlights successes, failures and provides point-
ers for the future of inter-basin water transfer projects.
International meetings over the past two decades have
increasingly drawn attention to the shortfalls in good quality
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water for human needs, particularly in drier areas with high
population growth rates, and to the environmental and
ecological impacts of human activities and interventions in
the hydrologic cycle on water systems. The United Nations
General Assembly Millennium Declaration in 2000 resolved,
‘‘to halve by the year 2015 the proportion of the world’s
population who are unable to reach or afford safe drinking
water’’ and ‘‘to stop the unsustainable exploitation of water
resources’’. The Implementation Plan of the World Summit
on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002 had as
one of its aims to ‘‘improve the efficient use of water resources
and promote their allocation among competing uses in a way
that gives priority to the satisfaction of basic human needs and
balances the requirement of preserving or restoring ecosystems
and their functions, in particular fragile environments, with
human domestic, industrial and agricultural needs, including
safeguarding drinking water quality’’. These goals represent
enormous tasks.
In the developed world, with more stable populations,
emphasis is being placed on water conservation and reuse
and on restoring or mitigating aquatic ecosystems impacted
by water developments. In the developing world, rapidly
increasing water demand requires new water infrastructure
and perhaps inter-basin transfer projects to assist in
alleviating poverty, and satisfying basic water, food and
fibre demands. In numerous cases alternative options to
inter-basin water transfer may exist. They need to be
explored and implemented where possible. It is our hope
that the material and analyses presented in this book will be
useful to decision-makers, researchers, university students
and general public in both developed and developing worlds
in stimulating debate and informing decisions on new inter-
basin water transfer proposals and in achieving negotiated
outcomes with active participation of all stakeholders.
Fereidoun Ghassemi and Ian White
OVERVIEW AND SCOPE xxi
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank sincerely all those people
who reviewed various chapters/sections of the book and
made constructive comments or assisted us by providing
information. These are:
A. Australia
Arthington, Angela (Prof.): Centre for Riverine Land-
scapes, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Griffith
University, Nathan, Brisbane, Queensland.
Ballard, Jeff (Mr): Infrastructure Engineer, NQ Water,
Townsville, Queensland.
Barnes, Marilla (Ms): Corporate Communications, SA
Water Corporation, Adelaide, South Australia.
Braaten, Robert (Mr): Water Management Division,
DIPNR,1 Sydney, New South Wales.
Chartres, Colin (Dr): Deputy Chief, CSIRO Land and
Water, Canberra.
Close, Andrew (Mr): Manager, Water Resources Group,
Murray�Darling Basin Commission, Canberra.
Commander, Philip (Mr): Department of Environment,
Perth, Western Australia.
Crabb, Peter (Dr): Visiting Fellow, CRES,2 ANU.3
Croke, Barry (Dr): Joint CRES and iCAM4 Research
Fellow at ANU.
Dovers, Stephen (Prof.): CRES, ANU.
Dunlop, Michael (Dr): Resource Futures Program, CSIRO
Sustainable Ecosystems, Canberra.
Everson, Derek (Mr): Water Management Division,
DIPNR, Sydney, New South Wales.
Fisher, Sarah (Ms): Senior Planning Engineer, Infrastruc-
ture Planning Branch, Water Corporation, Leederville,
Western Australia.
Fitt, Gary P. (Dr): Chief Executive Officer, Australian
Cotton Cooperative Research Centre, Narrabri, New
South Wales.
Fitzgerald, Bruce (Mr): Water Management Division,
DIPNR, Sydney, New South Wales.
Ghadiri, Hossein (Dr): Senior Lecturer, Centre for Riverine
Landscapes, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Griffith
University, Nathan, Brisbane, Queensland.
Grafton, R. Quentin (Prof.): International and Develop-
ment Economics, Asia Pacific School of Economics and
Government, ANU.
Hamblin, Ann (Dr): Visiting Fellow, CRES, ANU.
Hazell, Donna (Dr): Post Doctoral Fellow, CRES, ANU.
Hughes, Robert (Mr): Manager System Control, SA Water
Corporation, Adelaide, South Australia.
Jakeman, Anthony, J. (Prof.): Director, Integrated
Catchment Assessment and Management (iCAM) Centre,
ANU.
Johnson, Ken (Mr): School of Resources, Environment and
Society, ANU.
Jotzo, Frank (Mr): PhD candidate, CRES, ANU.
Locher, Helen (Dr): Environmental Programs Manager,
Hydro Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania.
Logan, John (Mr): Chairman, Western Agricultural
Industries Pty Limited, Neutral Bay, Sydney, NSW.
Magee, John (Dr): Australian Research Council Queen
Elizabeth II Fellow, Department of Earth and Marine
Sciences, Faculty of Science, ANU.
Martin, Gary (Mr): Manager Water Services, Bowen Shire
Council, 67 Herbert Street, Bowen, Queensland.
McKenzie, Neil (Dr): Research Group Leader, CSIRO
Land and Water, Canberra.
McLeod, Ivan (Dr): Project Manager, Western Agricultural
Industries Pty Limited, Perth, Western Australia.
Meehan, David (Mr): Project Manager, Office of Major
Projects, Department of Industry and Resources, Perth,
Western Australia.
1 Department of Infrastructure, Planing and Natural Resources.2 Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies.3 The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.4 Integrated Catchment Assessment and Management Centre.
xxiii
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Neilson, Danielle (Ms): Marketing Services Officer, Snowy
Hydro Limited, Cooma, New South Wales.
Nix, Henry (Emeritus Prof.): Visiting Fellow, CRES,
ANU.
Ollier, Cliff (Prof.): School of Earth and Geographic
Science, University of Western Australia, Nedlands,
Western Australia.
Pagan, Adrian (Emeritus Prof.): Economics Program,
Research School of Social Sciences, ANU.
Parsons, Andrew (Mr): Engineering and Projects, SAWater
Corporation, Adelaide.
Perkins, Paul (Adjunct Prof.): CRES, ANU.
Ray, Binayak (Mr): Visiting Fellow, Department of
Political and Social Change, Research School of Pacific
and Asian Studies, ANU.
Rebello, Gerry (Mr): Water Management Division,
DIPNR, Sydney, New South Wales.
Rose, Deborah (Dr): Senior Fellow, CRES, ANU.
Smith, David Ingle (Mr): Visiting Fellow, CRES, ANU.
Smith, Peter (Mr): Manager of the Utility Services, BHP
Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance, Riverside Centre, Brisbane,
Queensland.
Stein, Janet (Mrs): Research Officer and PhD Candidate,
CRES, ANU.
Walkemeyer, Peter (Mr): Project Manager, Project
Management Branch, Water Corporation, Leederville,
Western Australia.
West, Adam (Mr): Water Planning Coordinator, Queens-
land Department of Natural Resources and Mines,
Townsville.
White, Geoffrey B. (Mr): Chairman, White Industries
Australia Limited, Suite 214, Harrington Street, Sydney,
New South Wales.
B. Other countries
Alemi, Manucher (Dr): Office of Water Use Efficiency,
Department of Water Resources, Sacramento, California,
USA.
Day, J. Chadwick (Emeritus Prof.): School of Resource and
Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University,
Burnaby, British Columbia, V5A 1S6, Canada.
Flugel, Wolfgang-Albert (Prof.): Chair and Head, Depart-
ment of Geoinformatics, Hydrology and Modelling,
Friedrich-Schiller-University, Jena, Germany.
Fried, Jean (Prof.): Universite Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg,
France.
Howard, Ken (Prof.): Groundwater Research Group,
Scarborough Campus, University of Toronto,
Ontario, Canada.
Letolle, Rene (Prof.): Universite Pierre et Marie Curie
(Paris 6), Campus Jussieu, Paris, France.
Quinn, Frank (Dr): Formerly, Chief of Water Policy and
Transboundary Issues, Environment Canada, Ottawa,
Canada.
Renzetti, Steven (Prof.): Department of Economics, Brock
University, Ontario, Canada.
Reynolds, Dean (Dr): Associate Land and Water
Use Analyst, Department of Water Resources, Sacramen-
to, California, USA.
Shao, Xuejun (Prof.): Department of Hydraulic
Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Shields, Tina (Ms): Assistant Manager, Water
Department, Resource Planning and Management, Im-
perial Irrigation District, California, USA.
Storey, Brit Allan (Dr): Senior Historian, US Bureau of
Reclamation, Denver, Colorado, USA.
Tharme, Rebecca (Ms): International Water Management
Institute (IWMI), Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Wolfgang, Carolann (Dr): Geohydrologist, SAIC, 525
Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, California, USA.
Our special thanks go to Professor Anthony Jakeman for
his support of this project and Professor Angela Arthington
for writing the section on ‘‘Environmental Flow Requirements
of Rivers’’. We also thank Dr Anthony Scott for his valuable
comments and copy-editing, Mr Clive Hilliker for graphics
and Dr McComas Taylor for his valuable editorial advice.
xxiv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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List of Abbreviations
ABARE Australian Bureau of Agricultural and
Resource Economics
ACT Australian Capital Territory
ADR Alternative Dispute Resolution
AHD Australian Height Datum
ALP Australian Labor Party
AMSL Above Mean Sea Level
ANF Average Natural Flow
ASSOD Assessment of the Status of Human-Induced
Soil Degradation
ATSIC Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Commission
BBM Building Block Methodology
BHP Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited
BMA BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance
CALFED CALiforniaFEDeral
C-BT Colorado-Big Thompson
CIMIS California Irrigation Management
Information System
CMG Commander of order of St Michael and
St George
CRC Cooperative Research Centre
CSIRO Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial
Research Organisation
CUP Central Utah Project
CUWCD Central Utah Water Conservancy District
CVP Central Valley Project
CVPIA Central Valley Project Improvement Act
DIMIA Department of Immigration and
Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs
DLWC Department of Land and Water
Conservation (currently Department of
Infrastructure, Planning and Natural
Resources)
DRIFT Downstream Response to Imposed Flow
Transformations
DWR Department of Water Resources
EA Environmental Assessment
EC Electrical Conductivity
EFA Environmental Flow Assessment
EFR Environmental Flow Requirement
EIS Environmental Impact Statement
EMBUD East Bay Municipal Utility District
EPA Environmental Protection Authority
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations
Fry-Ark Fryingpan-Arkansas
FSL Full Supply Level
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GEWEX Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment
GIS Geographic Information System
GLASOD Global Assessment of Soil Degradation
GWh Gigawatt hours
ha Hectare (10 000m2)
HEC Hydro-Electric Commission
HRC Healthy Rivers Commission
IDC Infrastructure Development Corporation
IGBP International Geosphere�Biosphere
Programme
IID Imperial Irrigation District
IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
ISRIC International Soil Reference and
Information Centre
IWMI International Water Management Institute
IWSS Integrated Water Supply Scheme
kW Kilowatt
kWh Kilowatt hours
Lh�1 d�1 Litre per head per day
LPG Liquefied petroleum gas
m Metre
mm Millimetre
m3 Cubic metre
M Million
MDB Murray�Darling Basin
MDBC Murray�Darling Basin Commission.
MDBMC Murray�Darling Basin Ministerial Council
xxv
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MDIA Mareeba�Dimbulah Irrigation Area
MDWSS Mareeba�Dimbulah Water Supply Scheme
MoU Memorandum of Understanding
Mt Million tonnes
MW Megawatt
MWD Metropolitan Water District
NCWCD Northern Colorado Water
Conservancy District
NGOs Non Government Organisations
NSW New South Wales
NT Northern Territory
NWC National Water Commission
NWDA National Water Development Agency
NWI National Water Initiative
ORIA Ord River Irrigation Area
ORIS Ord River Irrigation Scheme
OWUE Office of Water Use Efficiency
PCA Permanent Court of Arbitration
ppb Part per billion
ppm Part per million
PRC People’s Republic of China
QLD Queensland
R&D Research and Development
s Second
SA South Australia
SDCWA San Diego County Water Authority
SMHEA Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority
SNWTP South-to-North Water Transfer Project
SOI Southern Oscillation Index
SWP State Water Project
SWRCB State Water Resources Control Board
SWUA Strawberry Water User’s Association
t Tonne (1000 kg)
tpa Tonnes per annum
TDS Total Dissolved Solids
UNEP United Nations Environment Programme
UNESCO United Nations Educational Scientific and
Cultural Organisation
URL Uniform Resource Locater
USBR United States Bureau of Reclamation
USRS United States Reclamation Service1
VIC Victoria
WA Western Australia
WAI Western Agricultural Industries Pty Limited
WCD World Commission on Dams
WRC Water and Rivers Commission
yr Year
1 The United States Reclamation Service was established within
the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in July 1902. Then, in 1907, the
Secretary of Interior separated the Reclamation Service from the
USGS and created an independent bureau within the Department
of the Interior. In 1923 the agency was renamed the ‘‘United States
Bureau of Reclamation’’ (http://www.usbr.gov/history/borhist.html
visited in April 2005).
xxvi ABBREVIATIONS
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