70% of the mainland of Australia is classified as semi-arid, arid or desert; making it the second driest continent on Earth and the driest inhabited continent.

Most of the large cities and towns in Australia are on the East and South coasts where good amounts of rainfall are received. However, the amount of people living in these areas is putting strain on the baseline water supply.

The North of Australia receives heavy rainfall in the monsoon season. The Western and central regions of Australia receive barely any rainfall (some less than 100mm per year). Australia is a large country and the distribution and availability of water is uneven.

Australia is a country that experiences drought regularly. This particularly impacts farmers who live inland where there is a lot of land but it is very dry.

Most central Australian towns rely on underground water.

1 - What is eroding the land away due to the lack of water and plants?

2 - Describe the mental impact of the drought on the farmers. 

3 - After watching the video, why would you say water is important for our country?

4 - It is obvious that the drought is causing a water crisis in Australia. What other pressure is causing a water crisis in Australia?

1 - What states have the most water risk?

2 - What states have low levels of water stress?

3 - Why does WA have a lot of high water risk? Think about the environment?

4 - Why do QLD, NSW and Victoria have lower levels of water risk? Think about what they are close to.

5 - How can states manage their water risk? What do they need to monitor?