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July 2008 |
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Fighting the rise of salt in AustraliaScientists have developed a new approach to help farmers fight the environmental impacts of rising salt levels in Australian landscapes.In a collaborative research effort, CSIRO’s Water for a Healthy Country Flagship and the Western Australian departments of Water, and Agriculture and Food have developed tools to assist land managers make the best decisions to reduce water table and salinity levels on salt-affected land. The study was carried out in Western Australia’s Avon River Basin as part of the WA Government’s Engineering Evaluation Initiative. CSIRO research leader Dr Riasat Ali says the research provides regional-scale drainage discharge management strategies to minimise the environmental impacts of saline water run-off in the landscape. It does this by identifying areas where the installation of drainage systems is likely to result in significant local benefits and minimal off-site impacts on the stream salinity, flooding risks and increased flows in the downstream rivers. The research evaluated drainage and other water management strategies using a hydrological model called LASCAM (LArge Scale CAtchment Model), used to predict streamflows, salt and water yields, and groundwater levels under a variety of drainage, revegetation and climate scenarios. It also involved investigating site-specific issues such as groundwater levels, implications of drainage options and analyses of local impacts. “Rising salinity cost several hundred million dollars annually and the current level of revegetation is inadequate to control it,” Dr Ali says. “This has led many landowners to adopt engineering options, such as artificial drainage systems, to reduce water tables and thus control salinity. “As the drainage discharge from most of these systems is released into the natural creek, river and wetland systems, effective regional-scale drainage discharge management strategies are urgently needed to minimise the flow-on impacts on natural ecosystems.” The research found that without drainage, or other salinity management strategies, groundwater levels were predicted to continue to rise over time. Dr Ali’s work has featured in the April 2008 edition of Farming Ahead magazine: www.farmingahead.com.au/CurrentIssue.aspx The research has been published in a Water for a Healthy Country Flagship report series: A summary Report of Wheatbelt Drainage Evaluation – Avon River Basin. The report is available online at: Contact: Riasat Ali, CSIRO Land and Water
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