Deserts and saline lakes alone: where do Australians get fresh water

Most of Australia is a waterless desert. If rivers are present here, it is only in the form of temporary water flows that exist here for a very short time and even do not appear every year. And even Murray and Darling, the largest rivers of the continent, can turn into a chain of shallow lakes for several months. But this whole waterless desert keeps an incredible treasure under the thickness of sand - the Great Artesian Basin, thanks to which it is possible for people to live in the inner parts of Australia.

If you look at the map, it turns out that most of the more or less large settlements of the country are located on the ocean. But people live in inland areas, especially many cattle breeders here. For the existence of farms and providing people with water, the resources of the Great Artesian basin are used.

This pool is located in several states and occupies about 23% of the continent. The temperature of the water that is extracted from numerous wells exceeds 30 ° C, and in some parts of the basin reaches a boiling point. Water reserves in the underground storage are estimated by hydrogeologists at more than 60,000 cubic meters. km But it should be noted that this water is not suitable for drinking everywhere. Sometimes it has a slight mineralization, and also contains an increased amount of hydrogen sulfide. However, this fact does not interfere with its use as drinking water for cattle and sheep, the breeding of which is one of the main sectors of the Australian economy.

When the development of the resources of the Great Artesian Basin began, water from the bowels of the Earth came under great pressure, and a barely drilled well issued a fountain of water. Today the situation has changed. In-situ pressure dropped significantly, and for this reason, pumps have to be used for water production. Rain water, seeping through the sands for thousands of years and accumulating above the water-resistant layers of mudstone, is wasted too quickly. And although Australians understand that they need to be careful about groundwater resources, on many farms water is not consumed in the most economical way.