This is how the mining boom can make its legacy!!

Hello ATS, this is one of my ideas that has been sticking in my head for quite some time now and I felt like I wanted to share it with you. Have you heard how our government has said "What will be the legacy of the mining boom once it's over"?
Well I thought about it and believe I have found that legacy!!

What we need to do is flood Lake Eyre. First we deepen it by about 10 - 25 metres and widen it , then we build a massive canal system from the Southern Ocean and permanently flooding Lake Eyre. The money from the mining boom could be used to pay for this massive infrastructure program, but the effects from this could change Australia forever.

Imagine having a massive body of water in central Australia? With the driest part of Australia now covered in water, it would increase precipitation for both the East and West coasts, and allow cities to be built inland across Lake Eyre. Our entire continent would become much, much wetter thus creating more farmland and water supplies.

Who agrees with me that this is a must for Australia's future, with our population fast growing we can no longer keep our major population centres on the East coast. By creating this massive body of water we can create a new area suitable for settlement, not to mention the vast amounts of jobs this could create.

And you are going to irrigate your fields with what ... salt water ?

Try looking up the Salton Sea .. people tried before to create an arificial sea and guess what happened. That thing stinks so bad you can not even go near it.

Originally posted by H1ght3chHippie
And you are going to irrigate your fields with what ... salt water ?

Try looking up the Salton Sea .. people tried before to create an arificial sea and guess what happened. That thing stinks so bad you can not even go near it.

Hmm true. But what if we planted massive amounts of mangroves across the canal system so that by the time the water gets to Lake Eyre it is already much cleaner?

Would that make a difference?

The Problem is not with the water that flows towards the artificial sea, but with the stagnating water inside the sea.

Once the sea is filled you will not have sufficient fresh water and water movement.

The desert is so hot that you have huge amounts of evaporation, upto a point where the salt concentration inside the sea will kill off any marine life.

Originally posted by H1ght3chHippie
The Problem is not with the water that flows towards the artificial sea, but with the stagnating water inside the sea.

Once the sea is filled you will not have sufficient fresh water and water movement.

The desert is so hot that you have huge amounts of evaporation, upto a point where the salt concentration inside the sea will kill off any marine life.

Well would it work if the canal was built slightly on an angle so that water is always moving up one direction of the canal, then when the water does reach the Lake couldn't we create another canal that branches further away that means the water in the lake is moving towards the second empty canal. Evaporation would keep the second canal empty so allow water movement.

Then in order to cool the surrounding areas of the lake, couldn't we build small articifcial mountains with the excavated material from the Lake?

reply to post by H1ght3chHippie


I'd have to agree, some of the central plains and lakes and dams in outback Aust are up to seven times saltier than the ocean. In Kalgoorlie they use ground water for the mines that is worse than the oceans for salt content.

It is a good idea though, very remeniscent of the US west coast. Most of California was desert before it was settled, and they have turned a lot of it into farmland. We could do the same, but for the moment our population is too small and our infrastructure doesn't need the extra farming and living areas, which would cost more than they would make most likely.

Maybe in 50 years time or so when we have close to 50-60 million people or more, it may become a viable option, and water purification tech becomes more mainstream, then definetely, you're onto something.

Originally posted by 74Templar
reply to post by H1ght3chHippie

 

I'd have to agree, some of the central plains and lakes and dams in outback Aust are up to seven times saltier than the ocean. In Kalgoorlie they use ground water for the mines that is worse than the oceans for salt content.

It is a good idea though, very remeniscent of the US west coast. Most of California was desert before it was settled, and they have turned a lot of it into farmland. We could do the same, but for the moment our population is too small and our infrastructure doesn't need the extra farming and living areas, which would cost more than they would make most likely.

Maybe in 50 years time or so when we have close to 50-60 million people or more, it may become a viable option, and water purification tech becomes more mainstream, then definetely, you're onto something.

Yes I think your right. Technology is only improving and one day we may be able to terraform the deserts of Australia. Could you imagine the global benefit of the entire Australian continent being forested?

However, we already have 23 million people, and our droughts make our dams at the peak risk. Imagine 50 million people? Our dams would be empty, we need to start thinking of ways to "terraform" Australia.

reply to post by CrimsonKapital


Given the fact we are currently in a flood state though after a ten year drought, water is not our current problem. As we go through these stages of drought then flood, we just need to be smart with our water. The de-sal plants were the biggest waste of time and money IMO, we could have used them to desalinate the water in central Aust rather than ruin the coastal areas and kill off all the marine life.

I don't know if central Aust could ever be terraformed to a point of being habitable, it is very arid and not a nice place to live if you don't have to even if you have the water and cities.

The other main problem is the large amount of gas, oil and mineral wealth in central Aust. Of course it won't last forever, but at the moment the mining boom is about the only thing keeping the country going. At some point it will have to come down to a point of residential vs. industrial. When I was in Kalgoorlie last, there was talk of relocating one entire edge of the city to expand the Superpit mine for gold exploration. If there's enough money in it, my guess would be with the relocation, to keep the industry going.

Originally posted by 74Templar
reply to post by CrimsonKapital

 

Given the fact we are currently in a flood state though after a ten year drought, water is not our current problem. As we go through these stages of drought then flood, we just need to be smart with our water. The de-sal plants were the biggest waste of time and money IMO, we could have used them to desalinate the water in central Aust rather than ruin the coastal areas and kill off all the marine life.

I don't know if central Aust could ever be terraformed to a point of being habitable, it is very arid and not a nice place to live if you don't have to even if you have the water and cities.

The other main problem is the large amount of gas, oil and mineral wealth in central Aust. Of course it won't last forever, but at the moment the mining boom is about the only thing keeping the country going. At some point it will have to come down to a point of residential vs. industrial. When I was in Kalgoorlie last, there was talk of relocating one entire edge of the city to expand the Superpit mine for gold exploration. If there's enough money in it, my guess would be with the relocation, to keep the industry going.

Yeah thats true, I think after the mining boom in about 10 or so years we will see a renewed expression for a decentralization of the East coast, and new cities (Gold Coasts almost) springing up on the West coast and possibly central Australia.