NCCMA Internet - Salinity

Salinity in the North Central Catchment Management Authority's region

Salt-River-Bed

Salt in Drain

Dryland Salinity Examples

Dryland salinity has long been recognised as one of the main threats to natural resources condition, water quality and agricultural production in the north central region of Victoria.

Almost 32,000 ha of land have been mapped as being affected by dryland salinity within the north central region. Around half of this is located in the Avon-Richardson catchment. While the area currently affected by dryland salinity comprises just 1% of the north central region, over 10% is considered to be at risk of developing shallow water tables and salinity.

Dryland Regional Management Plan

Historically, the foundation to effective dryland management within the north central region has been the Second Generation Dryland Salinity Management Plan. This plan however, has since been replaced with the Draft Dryland Region Management Plan.

This new plan was developed in response to the need to better utilise available funding for salinity management, and also a direct result of an identified need to improve management actions that are based on an on an enhanced understanding of the science of dryland salinity and public and private benefits.

For the North Central Catchment Management Authority this plan more clearly focuses investment around the region's highest value assets and utilises the Salinity Investment Framework (SIF3), developed by the Cooperative Research Centre for Plant Based Management of Salinity, now known as the CRC-Future Farm Industries.

Further Information:

Ground Flow System Mapping

This project has redefined the Groundwater Flow System mapping of the Upper Loddon catchment from a scale of 1:250,000 to a scale of 1:100,000 using an innovative mapping approach. This has been achieved to develop evidence-based sub-regional salinity management strategies and support catchment salt mobilisation models (eg, 2C Salt, CAT) for the Upper Loddon. The Upper Loddon catchment exports large amounts of salt with significant impacts on downstream storages, irrigation areas and the environment.

In order to meet end of valley salinity targets in north central Victoria investigations are dependent upon scientific modelling of hydrogeological processes within the catchment. The integrity and functionality of the models requires a sound knowledge of the geology and hydrogeology presented in the form of GFS maps and a supporting framework clearly describing the GFS attributes and conceptual groundwater flow processes.

This project is the result of a collaboration between geoscientists from the Department of Primary Industries, (Mark Reid, Jon Fawcett, Don Cherry and Peter Hekmeijer), Geoscience Australia (John Wilford and Jeremy James) and consultants Phil Dyson, Mark Hocking and David Heislers. This project was funded by MDBC, North Central Catchment Management Authority and DPI.

Urban Salinity Management Guidelines

Urban Salinity

Salt damage to infrastructure

Salinity is common throughout the urban and peri-urban regions of the City of Greater Bendigo. The problem occurs where the watertable lies sufficiently close to the land surface to allow for saline groundwater to discharge. Salinity occurs in the low parts of the landscape in valley floors, drainage depressions and along the immediate floodplains of many of the city's creeks. In some circumstances, however, it may also occur higher in the landscape, particularly along breaks of slope.

Urban salinity threatens foundations and may cause damage that result in considerable restoration costs. Salt damage may extend to roads, public and private gardens, underground services and recreational facilities and can be very extensive.

Accordingly, the issue must be carefully evaluated in those regions where it is proposed to establish new housing or industrial subdivisions on land thought to be subject to salinity. In partnership with the City of Greater Bendigo, a salinity hazard overlay and salinity guidelines for urban development were developed for Bendigo as a pilot for other municipalities in dealing with salinity.

Further Information:

DPI Indicators of Urban salinity