The national science agency is making underground water banking for inland towns a top priority as global warming raises the risk of drought in Australia.
The Murray-Darling Basin in NSW and Queensland during the drought between 2015 and 2020, the most intense on record, leaving many towns at risk of running out of drinking water.Water security for regional towns is already a pressing problem. The recent drought on the eastern seaboard was the most intense on record and by 2019 the Queensland towns of Stanthorpe and Clifton were trucking in water.
CSIRO principal scientist Declan Page said a technique known as managed aquifer recharge can be used to supplement existing dams and borefields, and the Murray Darling Basin would be a good place to start.