Chapter 3
I Background
II Early European Settlements
III Assessment Of Available Water Resources
IV Water Supplies For Goldmining Development
V Irrigation Development
i Channels, weirs and barrages
ii Measuring farm supplies - the Dethridge wheel
iii Early pumping schemes
iv Irrigation techniques
v Drainage of irrigated land
vi Recharge of aquifer
vii Soil-plant-water relationships
viii Carry-over storages and security of supply
VI Farm And Stock Water Supplies
VII Urban Water Supplies
VIII Wastewater Management And Treatment
IX Water Quality Management
X Limnological And Water Quality Research
XI New Techniques In Water Resource Planning And Management
XII Legislation
XIII Conclusion
XIV List Of Abbreviations
XV Acknowledgements
XVI Plantations-high Productivity Resources
References
Index
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Carry-over storages and security of supply
It is appropriate to conclude this section with some comments on the extent and security of irrigation development in Australia. The great variations in annual flows of most Australian rivers, compared to those in most other countries, have made it necessary to provide larger storages per unit of safe output than customary elsewhere. They have also led to the construction of large carry-over storages, designed to conserve as much as possible in flood periods to carry forward over a series of dry years, possibly up to seven years. This is a feature unique to Australia and requires special design procedures.The application and adaptation of modern techniques of hydrologic analysis have enabled overseas methods to be modified for Australian conditions so that the degree of reliability of supplies in dry periods has been progressively improved.
Nevertheless, the probability of occurrence of a sequence of unprecedentedly low stream flows remains and, as the economic limit of exploitation of water resources has been reached in many areas, the emphasis in recent years has been on the more efficient use of existing supplies through the application of appropriate technology.
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Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering |  |
© 1988 Print Edition page 166, Online Edition 2000
Published by Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, using the Web Academic Resource Publisher
http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/tia/165.html