Competing Demands for Water: The Development of a Management Plan for Equitable Sharing of Water between Town and Agricultural Users

Abstract

This thesis is a case study of the development of a management plan to solve a problem of competing demands for water. The competing users are rural properties carrying out crop irrigation and the residents of a small rural village. The resource for which they are competing is water both flowing in and stored in ponds in the Gwydir River in N.S.W. Both river flow and pond storage are inadequate to meet the requirements of both rural and town users, on an unrestricted basis. A clear case of directly competing demands for a limited resource exists. The aim of the study is to propose a management plan which can be shown to be equitable to the parties concerned, which is economically feasible and economically efficient and which is based on sound analysis of reliable data. ... A management plan has been developed to solve the problem of sharing water from the Gwydir River between competing users at Bundarra. The plan is based on sound data, is economically feasible and economically efficient and has been demonstrated to be equitable. Computer simulation techniques have been shown to be of value in dealing with a complex problem in natural resources. They have allowed the effects of a range of natural processes on the availability of water to be ascertained. These natural processes include river flow, rainfall, evaporation, seasonal weather conditions and plant water demand. The simulation techniques have also allowed the effects of man's impact on the natural processes to be ascertained.