The costs are huge, where up to 1 million dollars per kilometre would be spent on affected roads, and up to 10 - 15 thousand dollars for repairs made on each home affected. But, not all of these geographical causes can be blamed dealing with towns and cities. Urban salinity is mainly the result of over water of gardens by some people, and yet again allowing water tables to rise. .
The other main factor surrounds market failure, where in the past, and still today, people consider the environment as a free good and that there are no costs involved in the lopping of native trees. But, the cost is the lively hood of the environment and the well being of future generations that could be affected if the problem is not stopped. Our forefather's production in the economy has already jeopardised us as a future generation. Their lopping of native trees, in order to make Australia a fast growing economy, has had a huge impact on the environment and the level of salinity. Native trees that used to soak up rainfall have now been replaced with crops or nothing at all. Now when it rains, the water is not absorbed by the trees and water tables rise allowing salt to come to the surface. This has had a significant blow to the environment and parts of the economy. Farmers now face the problem of crops dieing and harvests being insignificant. The problem with crops is that they are thought to not absorb as much water. This would be ok if salt content in the ground didn't come to the surface and kill most of the produce. The agricultural distribution has been affected significantly in the economy and prevents further economic activity and growth in this area. .
Salinity is not only a problem for farmers; it is also a problem for consumers. With parts of the agricultural sector becoming less and less active, consumers face the problem of not having the freedom of choice that they could have had if salinity wasn't a problem.
