Water Cycle and Irrigation Expansion: An Application of Multi-Criteria Evaluation in the Limestone Coast (Australia)

Abstract

A summary of the current understanding of the hydrological system in the Limestone Coast in Australia is presented. The regional water balance analysis indicated about 90% of the water is lost through evapotranspiration. Irrigation consumes a substantial part of the groundwater and returns up to half of the water inflow to the aquifer. A multi-criteria analysis using fuzzy quantifiers and analytical hierarchy process was applied for future irrigation expansion. The results showed a total of 94,632 ha of land, considered suitable for irrigation where groundwater is not over-allocated or over used. This model showed some advantages over the conventional multi-criteria evaluation methods as it avoids arbitrary decisions on criteria weightings.