A new book about Australian groundwater, soil and water has been published by geologist Philip John Brown, and aims to inform the general population about the importance of one of our most valuable resources – groundwater.
Brown told The Echo, ‘The general thrust of Australian Hydrogeology is to illustrate that in a human life cycle, water, particularly groundwater, is a nonrenewable resource’.
Groundwater contamination
‘Groundwater resources are shrinking astronomically, and groundwater contamination is the biggest threat to current groundwater stores’.
The self-published book is presented in a coffee table format, with plenty of high quality photos and diagrams.
Brown says he would like the book to inform future generations.
‘I am a “green geologist”, or what is termed as an environmental geologist, with a view to saving our water’, he said.
‘For example, the oldest water in the Great Artesian Basin is two million years old, yet water usage and contamination give this resource a short life span.’
Chapters include reviews of the Snowy Hydro Scheme, Ord River Schemes, Rum Jungle Uranium copper project, Coal Seam Gas (CSG), climate change and salinity.
Brown says CSG is threatening the Great Artesian Basin. Another potential threat, he says, is the carbon storage proposal. ‘I don’t think carbon storage will work’, he says.
‘While the basin slowly recharges, it can’t keep up with human use. We are heading towards what the US has now – open toxic pits of contaminated water and soil, and areas that are unable to be farmed. CSG also produces a lot of methane’.
Another issue that farmers already face, says Brown, is salinity.
‘Once it reaches the surface, it ruins the land for agriculture, killing off the grass. This is likely to increase dramatically up to 2050 and beyond’, he says, and is a result of ‘misusing groundwater and cropping techniques’.
And while ‘huge swathes of Australia are affected’, he says governments are not taking it seriously. ‘Instead they appear to be accepting it’.
Salinity, land clearing
‘Land clearing is also a major problem, given trees keep salt and the water table contained’.
Brown says he has connections to the Byron Shire as he attended Mullum primary and Mullum high school.
‘I am the son of John and Frances Brown. John Brown worked for Mullum Municipality Council, and for a time with Byron Shire Council. He was the health and building surveyor for Mullumbimby’.
To get a copy of the book, email [email protected].
I can fully understand the loss, anxiety and trauma that these families carry. I am so sorry that the government has let you down. Equally sorry to discover that Byron Council is attempting to sanitise the history of the 2022 floods and their impact from their current Flood policy document. Your trauma is part of that history. Obviously, this unsound strategy by Developers, is a social ploy to advance inappropriate Developments on Floodplains. Keep us informed and thank you and blessings for the future.
Good article.
And bang on topic mentioning The GAB, where we have the horror spectacle of Glencore / CTSCo wanting to turn The GAB into a dumpster site.
We can thank, NOT, the former LibNat Federal Government and former Federal non-Environment Minister Sussan Ley who had no objection to this absurd idea from Glencore. Then there is the seeming disinterest from the current Federal Lab Government to reverse course.
Calling Minister Tanya , yuu huu…..anyone home?
The last resort it seems is AgForce, hopefully AgForce succeeds with its current Federal Court action to stop this whole nightmare becoming a reality.
The states (especially Queensland) are still allowing clearing of huge swathes of trees sitting over saline groundwater or soils with a high level of salinity – recipe for disaster and once topsoils are saline, they need treatment that’s a lot more expensive than the original clearing and productivity is lost in the meantime. Everyone knows this but the clearing keeps on. One of the conditions for allowing clearing should be testing of groundwater and soils for salinity levels – or better still, stop clearfelling whole paddocks. The short term gain isn’t worth the long term costs.
Glencore should be de registered as a business and Tanya plibersek sacked complete stupidity in the extreme and a total ban on building on flood plains implemented the great artisan basin is our biggest source of fresh water without it we are all dead we won’t be able to grow anything what planet do these politicians live on completely insane stupid moronic incompetent bizzare there are not enough adjectives in the dictionary to describe the stupidity of any government plans to let Glencore put carbon dioxide into the great artisan basin and to build on flood plains where’s the science in these descions no where to be found.