There are two major debates …show more content…
Such a region is called an aquifer if it contains a useable quantity of water. The depth at which the soil spaces become saturated with water is known as the water table.
Potable Water: Water that can be consumed by humans without risk of immediate or long-term harm.
Soil Salinity: There are two forms of soil salinity: dryland salinity (occurs on un-irrigated land) and irrigated land salinity. Both occur as a result of massive tree clearing, which raises the water table with the subsequent dissolving and moving of the salt from deep in the earth upwards, where it causes decreasing yield and eventually complete commercial and environmental loss of the land.
Surface Water: Water that collects on the ground in rivers, streams, wetlands, and lakes. Typically surface water is replenished through rainfall and lost naturally through evaporation and seepage into the ground water.
Water Entitlements: These provide the user with the guaranteed right to certain degrees of water consumption. Depending on the state, these entitlements can be bought, sold or traded. States such as Victoria and New South Wales actually pay farmers not to extract water, giving precedence to environmental flows and compensating farmers for the loss of