We all live in catchments and how that catchment behaves is often down to us. So this final episode is a wake up call and it takes place in a catchment that's the focus of so much national concern - the lower lakes and Coorong at the end of the Murray Darling system.
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Catchments and communities
In this penultimate part of the series we gather the thoughts, concerns and fears of people living in catchments under stress. Some of these people are dealing with too much water as their homes face inundation if a new dam is built, others used to take their river allocation for granted, but now face complete uncertainty. In one catchment a local bemoans the loss of what made her community attractive in the first place.
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The Burdekin River
Michael and Helen travelled to the Qld sugarcane region around the Burdekin River. In wet season, this river handles a massive amount of water that empties onto the Great Barrier Reef. In dry, the Burdekin calms down to a sedate pace. Cane growers have relied on both the river and groundwater to sustain their crops, but the water table is rising, salt water is intruding, and agricultural run-off is affecting water quality. We meet growers and soil scientists first hand.
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Dams
Dams - they're vital in many communities to supply water for domestic and agriculture. However building one is not always as straight forward as it appears. In this report Michael Mackenzie takes a closer look at the Traveston Crossing Dam project which is planned for the Mary River in Queensland.
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Permanent vs annual
With an uncertain water future, can we risk continuing to plant permanent crops like citrus and grapes? Irrigators like Robert Mansell and Warren Lloyd have inherited a long time family tradition, and would rather not work the land at all if they couldn't do what they're doing. Both men know there's something inherently wrong with the way we allocate water, but both also believe growers like them should be given the quota to continue.
The audio accompaniment for the Catchment Detox AUstralian National Science project. A river catchment simulator developed by ABC Science Online with ABC Local Radio, CSIRO and the Australian Government.
South Africa