A hundred years ago drilling for artesian water wasn't an easy job. The old bore drillers
were as tough as nails. They used to work through 50 degree heat in the summer and freezing
cold conditions in the winter. Well when dad and mum started off they would
have had three offsiders for the drillers, there would have been two drillers, there
would have been a cook. That's just for the drilling rig. Then for carting water there
would have been two people carting water because there was no truck or centrifugal pumps in
those days. There was only tent accommodation at best. When my mother went out and first
got married it was all camp oven cooking. She had to make her own yeast out of potato
peels and things like that. Now this is an old � this was a steam engine
that used to drive the drilling rig which is in front of us here and when they were
using it they would have had to � very often had to keep the same wood, about this size,
into it and then shutting it up to keep the power � steam power up. To transfer action
from the steam engine to the actual drilling action they used to have a wooden con rod
coming down onto the crank here. This crank turns all the time the engine's turning and
it goes onto that big walking beam above here and that gets the up and down movement.
With such a vast expanse of water under our feat it's easy to get complacent about conserving
the basin. That was the case when settlers first discovered they could drill into the
basin for water. They got a little bit over excited and didn't really think too much about
the future. Let me explain. Let's say this hose is the Great Artesian
Basin and the sprinkler at the end is a natural spring. What would happen if I was to poke
a hole in the hose? I'd have water over here and I wouldn't have to go all the way over
there. But what if I also wanted some water over here?
Now I've got holes everywhere but I haven't got the pressure to get the water I need.
This is exactly what's happening in the basin. It's so bad that a lot of bores and natural
springs have simply stopped flowing and hundreds of bores that do flow are out of control.
They can't be turned off and they're wasting millions of litres of water every day. A lot
of bore water flows into shallow channels dug into the dirt which encourages noxious
and feral animals and it's kind of pointless because the open channels or drains mean around
95% of the water evaporates or seeps away before it can even be used. Meanwhile to make
matters worse a lot of old bores were poorly made or the casings underground are corroding
so the water is escaping to the wrong places and damaging the environment. But, there are
things we can do. These days there's a strategy in place to
fix up the old bores so they can be used in a sustainable way and the water can be distributed
more responsibly. This process involves what we call capping and piping. Put simply capping
is just like putting a lid on the bores. Through a complex tap system farmers can turn the
bores on and off and only use the water when it's needed. Piping involves replacing the
old open channels or drains with pipes. Now the water goes straight to the tanks and troughs
without being wasted through evaporation and it doesn't ruin the native landscape by encouraging
weeds and feral animals. It costs quite a bit to cap and pipe all those
bores but the expense is being shared by both land owners and the state and federal governments.
It's not only graziers that are affected by bore water. It's towns, it's mines and I think
it's proving that water is a scarce commodity. The more we can do to save it the better and
if the pressure in our basin's going to rise through a government subsidised scheme, I
cannot see any reason why people shouldn't want to be involved in it.
And so far the overwhelming majority of land owners are saying that capping and piping
their bores has saved them money and in many cases helped them make more money.
Tractor repairs are way down because delving drains is hard work. It's hard on the axel,
it's hard on the tyres. The tractor is in the mud all day. And the pressure in this
bore will keep the tanks full under its own pressure. So you don't have as much electricity
pumping water. You can pump hot water straight into the house and do away with the hot water
system. You can pump water straight into the garden sprinklers, once you've cooled it down.
Also you can get a cool, clean drink yourself when you're mustering. Come to a tap. There's
a drink. On top of that it's just the fact that you feel so much better about not wasting
such a great resource. Of course capping and piping has to be managed
carefully so that the water now reaching a naturally dry environment doesn't upset the
delicate ecosystems. We started a program of capping the bores
and that meant that we had to get the water flowing into tanks and troughs and we call
them a closed system so that the stock can actually drink out of the troughs and we're
not wasting any water. The government has committed millions of dollars
over several years to help protect the Great Artesian Basin and the states are all starting
to cooperate. Let's face it, they have to. Each state has different laws and legislations
but water isn't going to respect state boundaries. It just keeps on flowing. So, any plans to
protect the Great Artesian Basin need to reach across the whole basin.
The families that still live and earn their living in the bush just wouldn't be here without
the Artesian Basin. Committees and sustainability initiatives
now focus on getting everyone involved - farmers, local businesses, state and federal governments
and other stakeholders. It's great to know that people recognise how important the Great
Artesian Basin is to Australia. If you'd like to know more about the Basin
check out the website.