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Irrigation farms disappearing
23 Oct 2003
Irrigation farms are disappearing fast in the region between Kerang and Swan Hill in Victoria. Once these farms covered 70 per cent of the region; now they make up less than 20 per cent, and this is expected to fall to 8 per cent by 2011.
The North Central Catchment Authority's project manager Jo Haw said the change has drastic consequences not only for farmers, but also for country town communities. She said most of the region's wetlands and lakes are part of the irrigation system, paid for and kept full by irrigators. But as water is traded out of the area, security decreases and the question of who pays becomes more relevant.
Ms Haw said the region will lose two-thirds of its water within 20 years if it continues to be traded under existing processes. She said also there will be a significant impact on towns like Kerang and shires like Gannawarra Shire if water trading continues. Water is tied to the value of farm land and as water is traded out, land values and therefore the rates base also decrease.
Weekly Times, 22/10/03, page 4.
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