Water infrastructure project.
Trans-sector opportunities?
Australia’s southern states are facing water shortages at a time when long term world demand for food crops is trending up. Governments are investing up to $9bn on energy intensive desalination plant for coastal city needs but so far, little on inland infrastructure.
Over the last decade Queensland rivers which normally deliver water to southern regions from big rainfall events are drying in transit through arid land. To maintain & expand agriculture, mining and other industries dependent on water, we need to be looking now, at how to tap into the huge volumes of northern water going to sea and move it to areas of need at minimal loss/cost.
Providing adequate water and strategic job creation in our agricultural regions will help to provide a valuable alternate revenue stream to mining as Asian regions urbanize. Also as climate change impacts we increasingly will need to ensure that basic and critical commodities are moved to where they are needed. “It is easier to move water than cities”.
This infrastructure has many cross sector points with energy and communications. Ideas and suggestions are welcome
Inland canal system
It is estimated that on average, 173,000 GL pa of river water in N/E Queensland and the Gulf of Carpentaria goes to sea each year. Part of this volume, which amounts to ~100 times southern city needs, could be better utilized by moving it to areas of need.
A project team has looked at constructing a canal system to move water through West Queensland into the Darling at Bourke. The Bourke option, run over flat land with minimal river crossings, came out at about $5.6bn. From this main canal a combination of rivers, subsidiary canals and pipe could be constructed at extra expense to move water through major irrigation areas and/or to city dams in Qld, NSW, Vic and SA.
Energy requirements
Power to run canal pump stations will initially come from gas engines or turbines using coal seam and basin gas widely available in Queensland. Gas pipeline is already in place on part of proposed canal routes and where it isn’t, new pipe will be installed. In the long term we see potential to tap into future geothermal power supplies on route and/or utilize the wastes from purpose grown crops and/or trees to produce power and liquid transport fuels.
Recent USA studies have indicated the possibility of wind stable thin film photovoltaic covers over canal to generate canal power needs while reducing water losses. Day time solar power could store water in reservoirs to allow night time gravity flow to canal. Solar plant evaluations are in progress to reduce delivered water cost.
Fibre Optic Network.
This water infrastructure project will be controlled centrally by fiber optic cable network to turn pumps on/off open/shut radial gates etc and it would not be difficult to integrate or rent conduit to communication groups if it was beneficial.
Flows to SA and Vic could continue to generate power to run fiber optics via water movement.
Benefits of the project
A listing of some of the economic and environmental benefits possible from making water available include
- The Murray Darling River’s needs for 1500 GL of environmental flows
- Supply coastal city dams at prices below costs of desalination.
- Mallee Eucalypts to control salinity, sequester carbon & industry products.
- Soil quality and carbon offsets
- Revenues of $100bn pa in grain and fuel sales from new water sources , to supply Asian markets
- Crops for the production of Ethanol and Bio-diesel
- Farming (grains, meat, dairy, grapes, fruit, vegetables )
Ideas, suggestions, interest, let me know.
Paul Budde
See also:
- Global Recovery will Depend on Trans-Sector Vision
- Global – Analysis – Government Infrastructure Policies as Economic Stimulus
- Global – Analysis – Government telco policies to kick-start the economy
- Global – Analysis – The Financial Crisis and Economic Stimulus Packages
- Smart Grids – Grid IT – Where Energy Meets Comms
March 11th, 2009 at 10:26 am
Another form of the old chestnut. Another pipe dream updated with more sexy button pushing buzz words than ever before. Apart from the environmental issues, that haven’t even been alluded to, how can this be anything but a short term solution to the water shortage? Part of the current shortage of water is due to inappropriate use of resources. No amount of turning waters east, west or south can change that. Has the Snowy Mountains scheme solved the problem? No. It, in fact, is be part of it, lulling Governments, users and other starry eyed optimists into a belief that such projects actually increase the amount of water available in our arid inland. The overt assumption that water flowing to the sea is wasted water demonstrates a very turbid understanding of ecological principals.
Let’s live within oyr water means and devote research dollars and discussion to efficient water use., instead of pulling our heart strings and tempting us with ecological falsehoods at worst and optimistic over dreams at best
March 12th, 2009 at 10:09 am
The harsh reality is that Australia needs to do more with its water resources. Short of adopting a zero population growth strategy we will have more mouths to feed. Getting water to those who need it efficiently should be a national priority. While we’re at it we should get as many telecommunications benefits as possible. Australia’s water distribution infrastructure in capital cities is also slowly falling apart. Some simple legislation could ensure that every replaced water or gas main is accompanied by half a dozen telecommunications ducts. The lack of infrastructure co-ordination is the biggest squandered opportunity for telecoms improvement in Australia.
March 12th, 2009 at 10:54 pm
I really don’t have the expertise to comment on whether this is an other resurrected pipe dream but I do concur with John’s comments regarding the need for further infrasructure co-ordination. I don’t necessarily agree that the laying of optic fibre cable down water pipes and gas pipes as being the only way forward, promising work is occuring in Europe with fibre optic rollouts through sewrage networks effectively laid out by robotic machines that roll through the pipes cleaning and adhering the cables to the top of the sewer pipes. All dirty work no doubt! It’s probably easier to get access to the sewrage network than it is the gas and water networks, maybe this is an opportunity to kick off infrastructure coordination. Yours from snowy Zurich!
March 13th, 2009 at 8:51 am
Paul:
I agree, as you suggest, that “trans-sector” thinking can help. Let me start with a couple thoughts.
1. The intermittence of wind energy is much less of a problem when moving water, since it does not dissipate nearly as fast as say, electricity. So, as in ages past, windmills and/or wind turbines could help move the water (for example, pump it up high when the wind is blowing; let it run out when the wind is not).
2. Some of the same choices of recycling and/or “conservation” still apply. It is often physically possible to recover waste water; it just as often is not “economic” to do so. Similarly, a change in technology can drastically reduce water use, but may have its own costs and other disadvantages — drip irrigation and waterless toilets both come to mind.
3. Zoning can encourage or discourage location decisions so that water-using activities are near to or far away from the water source. Of course, economics and physics continue to play their roles, so it may often not be feasible to cut down the need to move the water through location or re-location.
4. Smart grid technology could well apply — providers and users could both be smarter if they had (a) better information and (b) in fact were rewarded for being smarter. (I am still annoyed at loaning my water company money at zero interest because they over-estimate usage in-between meter readings and then give me a non-interest bearing credit against future bills.)
5. Even “local generation” might apply, as when sites are rewarded for installing and using rain cisterns, dew collection systems, systems that collect the water removed by drying, etc.
Rollie
March 13th, 2009 at 9:07 am
Perhaps there needs to be a standards-based approach to examining how multi-purposing (trans-sectoral) builds should be approached, and ultimately a number of templates drawn up to meet different types of terrain/politics/economics that disparate sectors might agree to.
Frank
March 13th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
Paul,
Interesting,
This could support an inland fibre route picking up regional Qld Towns and leading to a connection with Darwin?
Regards,
Alan Taylor
March 14th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
It is interesting to note recent IPCC comments from Copenhagen that measurements of sea level rise is going up much faster than previously projected. This together with high climatic temperatures in southern Australia and regular cyclonic activity in northern coastlines should be a wake up call to the community of climatic changes that can dramatically affect the way this country operates. Basic commodities such as economic water need to be made available to all
Last financial year agricultural exports helped pull our balance of payments into slightly positive territory as mining revenues plummeted. We need more than one major export industry to keep “Ship Australia” afloat. Un-subsidized agriculture exports has served us well for many years , it will continue to do so if commodities such as bulk water for agriculture and other industries can be strategically made available. Desalinated water is too expensive, water from the north is not.
Terry
March 14th, 2009 at 8:47 pm
It seems to me, that any infrastructure project to handle water, and communications cannot be bad.
Seems better that handouts to be spend.
Who wants spending without rewards.
V
March 15th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
I agree with Elizabeth and Rollie on all their points. I’m not all that comfortable commenting on another country’s resource issues, but let me say that a bioregion should resolve it’s own resource problems internally. Expropriating resources from weaker neighbors is so 19th Century.
-Jeff
March 18th, 2009 at 3:42 pm
The engineering issues are logical and if existing waterways, pipes, solar panels and covered canals are used, the efficiences are there. Wind power can also be used as the pumping for gravity purposes is not time dependent.
Use of the routes for fibre runs is also practical! What is not practical is the politics! A Federation suffers from state and territory rivalries; claims and counter claims for water based on where it falls, flows, or, is dammed depending on how it suits the local “pollie” or interest group.
Witness the North South pipeline in Victoria where it should be a win for rural and a win for metro. And that is within the one state. The mind boggles with the problems an interstate project proposal would bring about.
March 19th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Received from one of our readers
Thought you might be interested to see what is being done at the Dept of Electrical Engineering at Melbourne Uni. It is a very interesting project that has been going for sometime http://www.ee.unimelb.edu.au/research/cssip/res_projects/hybrid_sys/index.html
March 19th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
Paul,
Saving water via reducing channel losses, introducing more efficient trickle or centre pivot irrigation is all well known technology that has been around for yonks. Unless growers are supported financially to introduce these efficiencies they may not take them on as they see reduced rainfall, higher summer temperatures, causing low availability of bulk water as their main future problem, not losses into farms.
You cant save what you don’t have!
The Murray Irrigation Authority is selling 42 GL of water rights for $70 million, who will be the main buyer? probably the Federal government. This is water the growers have not had decent allocations of for many years, and are unlikely to have in years to come. I don’t blame desperate growers selling assets to keep going, but the taxpayer seems to be paying for water that is a diminishing resource as southern rainfall reduces. Climate change experts are now talking about rates of sea level rise (from melting Glaciers etc) that indicate global warming is a concern and reduced rainfall in the south is likely This is all happening when export markets are developing for huge future volumes of agri produce. Countries such as China and India are growing a lot of their crops from reducing ground water resources, when this water drops to unsustainable levels who knows how they will feed themselves, and what moves they may make.. In the meantime each year we have huge volumes of northern monsoonal river water going to sea. We have the potential to economically tap into a portion of that resource, the same as the US Bureau of Reclamation did years back when they built lined canals to recover seasonal river water, to irrigate idle farm land. Suprisingly, evaporation losses of fast moving canal water is not high. The western states of USA are the food bowl of America, few know it, but the huge growth of states such as California came initially from canal water.
Terry Bowring
March 19th, 2009 at 10:26 pm
A thought relating to methodology of such a project. Such a system where water is to traverse great distances in an open in ground trench really needs to take into account the amount of evaporation over its path.
At times where steel is at is lowest price in a long while and the industry is struggling, the government is in an ideal position to put forward an oportunity to provide enclosed steel ducted above ground pipe lines from rivers such as the Burdiken river right through to Brisbane and inland areas of QLD and NSW. 2 x 2400mm runs, with drops at all needed areas would be a good starting point and would do wonders for thousands of people and many companies.
Use Australian steel, use australian workers, restrict tenders to Australian based companies, this would be money much better spent than on things like $900 payments to individuals.
Such a solution would provide long term viability for areas where water is not reaching. It would also extremely reduce the pressures on creating “solutions” that will not be environmentally friendly in the long term.
Run the pipelines inland, include a 96 SMOF, with OADM sites in every populated area, and AMP sites where there is no population. This would allow for the pipeline network to be remotely controlled and monitored, as well as provide high bandwidth solutions to regional areas from NQ through to NSW, and VIC if the line were to extend that far.
Set up a wholesale telco arm to the network that is NOT owned by any existing carriers and really stimulate broadband growth in regional australia.
Whats important is that the fibre network be classified primarilly as a management network for O&M on the pipeline, then treat the Broadband offshoot as a Secondary network (carrier grade) which is not trying to make enormous profits, but simply cover the O&M +20% margin on the network itself. This will entice carriers to deploy their own competitive infrastructure.
March 21st, 2009 at 1:41 pm
Mark
potable water needs to be transported in condrete lined pipe. or fiber glass pipe. My calcualtions on delivering steel pipe needed to handle volume involved was it was 5 times the cost of a canal . Losses from canal are not high , in the Arizona desert they lose 3% in summer and 1% in winter for every 600km transit . It is best to reduce this if you can but when you work out delivered water cost over 50 yrs canals come out in front .
I pretty much concur with you on your comments on optical fiber usage and am having my route identified in terms of brodband customers it will service. It is a difficult evaluation when Telstra wont disclose much of their existing network
March 21st, 2009 at 1:46 pm
Mark
Potable water needs to be transported in concrete lined pipes or fiber glass pipe. My calculations on delivering steel pipe needed to handle volume involved was it was 5 times the cost of a canal.
Losses from canal are not high, in the Arizona desert they lose 3% in summer and 1% in winter for every 600km transit It is best to reduce this if you can but when you work out delivered water cost over 50 yrs canals come out in front.
I pretty much concur with you on your comments on optical fiber usage and am having my route identified in terms of broadband customers it will service. It is a difficult evaluation when Telstra won’t disclose much of their existing network.
Terry