Can the environmental impacts of inter-basin transfers be adequately predicted and mitigated?

For large parts of the human population water scarcity is a serious problem. Increased hydrological variability as a result of climate change will exacerbate the problem. As a result, the pressure to use water more efficiently and ultimately to find ways of redistributing resources from areas of plenty to areas of stress increases. There are many large inter-basin transfers around the world, notably in Australia, Canada, China, India and the United States, Central Asia. Many more inter-basin transfer schemes are under consideration. Inter-basin transfers are often large and expensive, involving major infrastructure and in some cases significant use of energy for pumping. Transfers will affect existing river flows and water quality and can also have significant impacts on aquatic ecosystems.