Substituting groundwater for surface water - what could go wrong? A case study in Victoria, Australia

Abstract

In many places there is evidence that some water users will sell off the surface water they are entitled to, but then make greater use of groundwater to satisfy their water needs. And, because surface water and groundwater are interconnected, but groundwater extraction poorly measured and monitored, it’s a form of substitution that could hurt others. It can also undermine water markets and affect water conservation efforts by governments. Sarah Ann Wheeler and colleagues have just analysed the interdependence between surface and groundwater extractions in an irrigation district in the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia. Here she explains what they did, and what it reveals.