It’s to do with water

let it grow! pic by Andrew Booth

OK so lets irrigate the landscape, make it green.

The life of a farmer seems to be ruled by the weather, and more often than not it’s about water – either too much or too little.

The problem with farming these dry landscapes is the obvious lack of plant available water right? So lets add some……..my first question is how much of this added water goes into plant growth anyway?

Ideally all added water goes into plant/ grass growth, this way money is saved in terms of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides otherwise being lost to the earth. And pollution in the form of runoff and leaching are eliminated – if the water isn’t carrying on through or off the land it wont carry these precious (expensive and toxic) away, it wont be carrying effluent and other stock leavings either – treasured to maintain the fertility of the land but a menace in our waterways.

Water water everywhere...

But where is all that water going, whats under that thin layer of fertile soil?

Understanding the soil makeup and hydrological systems of the whole basin are vital in seeing where the problems lie. Think: what lies beneath?

The soil here is porous, eliminating runoff problems by sucking away available

moisture as soon as it hits the earth, but that’s not a lot of good to the plants that need it close to the surface, far more water needs to be applied than that being used directly by the plants – where does it end up.

Wrybill in braided river, pic by John Hill

The rivers of the Mackenzie can easily be described as epic, even with their constraining concrete shackles. They tell of underground water, aquifers quietly filled by the drops that trickle through that porous earth. Those thieving trickles rich with the lifeblood of the grasses far above, no longer only the life-giving water but rich with nutrients and chemicals – out of favour, out of their place.

Current water quality in the Mackenzie is described as high. These mighty rivers still run crystal clear (mostly) and artesian wells are still fresh for drinking. But what happens when all those little droplets catch up with us? can it last?

And where does the water for irrigation come from. Those rivers already shackled by Meridian are loosing their characteristic braids, home to many. We are we taking the water and adding wastes, is this a trend the environment can cope with?

Food (or drink) for thought.