By Julian Cribb Scientists say Australia's declining water quality is caused by acidification and sodicity of soil and water systems. The fate of Australia's landscape can be accurately charted by declining water quality, according to one of the country's leading water scientists.
Water links our whole landscape, from hill slope to estuary.
Every water system has a point of no return when it is overloaded with pollutants of various kinds and collapses, Harris explains. Australia's main water systems have gone. By analyzing the chemical composition of water how much sodium, calcium, iron, chloride and sulphate it contains water scientists can construct an accurate picture of what is happening higher in the catchment. He warns of a looming future crisis caused by acidification and sodicity of soil and water systems. Land use in Australia has changed the hydrology and the biogeochemistry of the landscape, giving rise to a new set of chemicals that will be released from the land and infiltrate the country's waterways.