The Importance of Legislative Reform to Enable Adaptive Management of Water Resources in a Drying Climate
In South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula, groundwater provides 85% of the region’s reticulated water supply. Fresh groundwater resides within shallow karstic limestone aquifers recharged by incident rainfall. Water levels are very responsive to short-term climate variability and are at risk of sustained...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/9/1404 |
| _version_ | 1797502437710364672 |
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| author | Simone Stewart Graham Green |
| author_facet | Simone Stewart Graham Green |
| author_sort | Simone Stewart |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula, groundwater provides 85% of the region’s reticulated water supply. Fresh groundwater resides within shallow karstic limestone aquifers recharged by incident rainfall. Water levels are very responsive to short-term climate variability and are at risk of sustained decline due to long-term drying trends and the further rainfall declines indicated by projections of future climate, thereby increasing risk to water security and groundwater-dependent ecosystems. In 2009, a new adaptive resource management approach was enabled through legislative reform that better addresses climate variability, particularly where aquifer robustness is low. This allows the volume of water available for licensed allocations to be varied annually depending on the current condition of the aquifer resources. A three-tiered trigger level policy varies the rate at which water allocations are limited in proportion to monitored changes in groundwater storage. The three trigger thresholds are specified for each discrete groundwater resource, based on levels of risk. We now have more than five years of observations and practice of this approach to learn of its efficacy and consequences for water users, the water resources, and the environment. It has proved to be an effective way to deal with the uncertainties in how and when climate may change and how water management principles can effectively respond. Our case study provides an example of the importance of legislative reform to enable adaptive water resource management to effectively tackle the challenges of water planning in a drying climate. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:33:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3d4150f6220d48d88603f530a057c24c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:33:05Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-3d4150f6220d48d88603f530a057c24c2023-11-23T09:35:16ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412022-04-01149140410.3390/w14091404The Importance of Legislative Reform to Enable Adaptive Management of Water Resources in a Drying ClimateSimone Stewart0Graham Green1Department for Environment and Water, Adelaide 5000, AustraliaDepartment for Environment and Water, Adelaide 5000, AustraliaIn South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula, groundwater provides 85% of the region’s reticulated water supply. Fresh groundwater resides within shallow karstic limestone aquifers recharged by incident rainfall. Water levels are very responsive to short-term climate variability and are at risk of sustained decline due to long-term drying trends and the further rainfall declines indicated by projections of future climate, thereby increasing risk to water security and groundwater-dependent ecosystems. In 2009, a new adaptive resource management approach was enabled through legislative reform that better addresses climate variability, particularly where aquifer robustness is low. This allows the volume of water available for licensed allocations to be varied annually depending on the current condition of the aquifer resources. A three-tiered trigger level policy varies the rate at which water allocations are limited in proportion to monitored changes in groundwater storage. The three trigger thresholds are specified for each discrete groundwater resource, based on levels of risk. We now have more than five years of observations and practice of this approach to learn of its efficacy and consequences for water users, the water resources, and the environment. It has proved to be an effective way to deal with the uncertainties in how and when climate may change and how water management principles can effectively respond. Our case study provides an example of the importance of legislative reform to enable adaptive water resource management to effectively tackle the challenges of water planning in a drying climate.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/9/1404groundwater management3-D hydrostratigraphic modellingadaptive managementArc Hydro Groundwaterwater allocation plankarst aquifers |
| spellingShingle | Simone Stewart Graham Green The Importance of Legislative Reform to Enable Adaptive Management of Water Resources in a Drying Climate Water groundwater management 3-D hydrostratigraphic modelling adaptive management Arc Hydro Groundwater water allocation plan karst aquifers |
| title | The Importance of Legislative Reform to Enable Adaptive Management of Water Resources in a Drying Climate |
| title_full | The Importance of Legislative Reform to Enable Adaptive Management of Water Resources in a Drying Climate |
| title_fullStr | The Importance of Legislative Reform to Enable Adaptive Management of Water Resources in a Drying Climate |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Importance of Legislative Reform to Enable Adaptive Management of Water Resources in a Drying Climate |
| title_short | The Importance of Legislative Reform to Enable Adaptive Management of Water Resources in a Drying Climate |
| title_sort | importance of legislative reform to enable adaptive management of water resources in a drying climate |
| topic | groundwater management 3-D hydrostratigraphic modelling adaptive management Arc Hydro Groundwater water allocation plan karst aquifers |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/9/1404 |
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