by Viv Forbes, Executive Director, The Saltbush Club, ©2022
(May 12, 2022) — Since the days of Joseph in ancient Egypt, droughts have periodically rationed water and food supplies for humans and wildlife. Sensible peoples store water, but it is about 40 years since Australians built a big dam – young Aussie engineers have no damn experience.
Even beavers build dams and weirs to provide long-term wetlands and food supplies along rivers. Dams also moderate floods downstream.
Foolish children and Green politicians think that floods are caused by carbon dioxide, but farmers know that it is La Nina that brings flooding rains to Eastern Australia.
Right now, La Nina flood-water is pouring down rivers like the Herbert, Burdekin, Pioneer, Fitzroy, Dawson, Mary, Maroochy, Condamine, Bremer, Brisbane, Richmond, Clarence, Macleay, Goulburn, Snowy and the mighty Murray-Darling. And our few dams and weirs are now spilling too much water.
But climate cycles will change and El Nino droughts like “Federation” and “Millennium” will come again.
When that happens, we will again find rivers dry, wetlands parched, crops desiccated and water rationed because we did not store enough La Nina water.
Viv Forbes
Washpool, Qld, Australia
Further Reading:
The Roar of Waste:
https://saltbushclub.com/2019/02/20/roar-of-waste/
Australia’s Dam Crisis:
https://saltbushclub.com/2019/06/20/australias-growing-dam-crisis/
Ron Pike on water mismanagement in Australia:
https://youtu.be/PyYdhxjMthw
https://www.spectator.com.au/2022/03/those-damned-dams/
Responsibility for any electoral comment here is taken by Viv Forbes, Washpool, Qld, Australia.