Dealing with salinity in Wheatbelt Valleys - Department of Water

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Morrell, Hatton and Curry Town Project in Pingrup should be installed with an automatic water level recorder. In total, it is recommended to install at least twelve loggers and probes in the catchment (approximate cost of $6,000 for the monitoring equipment). It is always better to select wells in the upper and middle slopes of the catchment where most of the recharge is taking place. Monitoring wells in the lower parts of the catchment where most of the discharge is taking place will not be of any use. WHERE TO FROM HERE Drought, frosts, terms of trade and other external factors that farmers can have little or no impact on will always be with us. On top of the above, salinity is increasing rapidly, thus further reducing our profitability. The CSIRO/DEP/Murdoch University report suggested that up to 50% of our catchment could be adversely affected by saline water tables within 2 metres of the surface within 50 years if we continue current practices. These predictions are of course a worst case scenario, but the report has given us a feel for the problem facing us. Questions to be pondered: • How hard will it be to not let the salinity problem get that big? • Will it really be as bad as predicted? • How can we learn to live with it? • What percentage of salinity are we prepared to live with and can we achieve this level with current knowledge? • The predictions do not mean that the situation is hopeless, but rather we need some lateral thinking. Are there systems in place to assist this lateral thinking? • How can we become consistently profitable so that the problems can be addressed every year, not just when there has been a profit? • Farmers are innovative, but can they come up with the solutions? FINAL THOUGHTS We need to decide what level of salinity we can live with and set achievable milestones and targets on our way to achieving this level. Some farmers are prepared to try new ideas without first having proof of the success of it, or if it will be economically sound in the short term. An example is drainage. Farmers’ expectations from some actions can differ. Farmers – 14 – are often merely looking for solutions that will enable them to continue to farm as they currently do, without looking at the short term economic return. New industries that are profitable are required if a rapid uptake of a solution is to be achieved. Farmers have shown that they embrace new ideas very quickly if they see some benefit to themselves. People are important. If no one remains in rural areas, salinity WILL NOT cease. It will continue to rise. With no one to address these problems, many assets of value will be lost. Therefore a completely new way of tackling the problem needs to occur. Old ideas should be fully explored. No idea should be dismissed, even if it is not addressing the cause, but the symptoms instead. These solutions hopefully will buy us time to discover new ways of addressing and living with salinity. There are too many decision makers who have closed minds, and most of them do not have to live with the results of decisions they make. They merely continue to collect their pay and head back into their own little world. Landholders do not, as some people seem to think, consciously go out to destroy their environment each day, but have to live with both the good and bad decisions they make. Farmers, like all other people, are generally trying to do the right thing by their families, their communities and their environment and should be assisted, and certainly not hindered, in their endeavours. The risk maps presented to the Lake Chinocup Community have been useful, but for the necessary change to occur top down approaches will never work. Landholders need to be involved at all levels of decision making to successfully tackle this problem. ACTION FOR POST CONFERENCE Find the innovative land managers who are working with little assistance and help them develop their ideas into on ground actions. Look again at "integrated catchment planning". The current methods are not working. Some assets of value may need to be given up, e.g. some areas of biodiversity. Prioritise them. Protect our most valuable asset, the rural resident. We are becoming extinct.
REFERENCES Dawes, W.R., Stauffacher, M. & Walker. G.R. (2000). Calibration and modelling of groundwater processes in the Liverpool Plains. CSIRO Land and Water Technical Report 5/00. Lewis, M.F. & Nulsen, R.A. (1994). Groundwater Processes In the Wheatbelt. In: Conference proceedings – Potential for increased farm production and improved land management through use of gypsum around Lake Chinocup, Agriculture Department, Katanning, 11–19. Salama, R.B., Hatton, T. & Dawes, W. (1996a). HARSD: Procedures and approaches to landscape classification, groundwater level mapping and flow-net modelling. CSIRO Division of Water Resources, Technical Memorandum 96/27. Salama, R.B., Ye, L., & Broun, J. (1996b). Comparative study of methods of preparing hydraulic-head surfaces and the introduction of automated hydrogeological-GIS techniques. Journal of Hydrology, 185:115–136. – 15 – Morrell, Hatton and Curry
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Foreword Dealing with Salinity in W
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1Day one: Monday 30th July. Field t
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Papers Dealing with Salinity in Whe
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Ali and Coles biggest challenges fa
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Ali and Coles erosion, maintenance
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Ali and Coles expected under these
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Ali and Coles Coles, N.A. & Ali, M.
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Commander, Schoknecht, Verboom and
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APPRECIATING AND CREATING OUR HISTO
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services. The Government responded
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WHEATBELT VALLEYS IN DIFFICULTIES T
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argue that they were really abnorma
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1990s, the wheatbelt valleys in par
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REFERENCES Agstats (1997). Agricult
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George and Coleman two to four fold
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George and Coleman surface, the vas
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George and Coleman for example in t
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George and Coleman current trends c
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George and Coleman While not as div
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George and Coleman SPECIES Table 5:
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George and Coleman advantages of so
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Page 73 and 74: Hatton and Ruprecht WATCHING THE RI
Page 75 and 76: Since the mid 1970s annual rainfall
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Page 79 and 80: Salinity Monthly streamflow (ML) 10
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Page 85 and 86: THE FUTURE In looking at the future
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Page 105 and 106: INTRODUCTION The Lake Chinocup Catc
Page 107 and 108: agriculture) in various stages, the
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Page 131 and 132: Pannell Pannell, D.J. (2001). Dryla
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Page 149 and 150: CASE STUDY - TOOLIBIN LAKE AND CATC
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with Salinity in Wheatbelt Valleys
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Photo Gallery 2 Dealing with Salini
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APPENDIX 1 BACKGROUND HYDROLOGY AND
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WHEATBELT HYDROLOGY Flow in the Yil
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Flow (ML) STREAM SALINITY Salt Rive
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APPENDIX 2 WATER MANAGEMENT OPTIONS
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APPENDIX 3 MANAGING WATER AND SALIN
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SUMMARY- TIMELINE OF RECENT SIGNIFI
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RECENT HISTORY OF WATER AND SALINIT
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Figure 1. Hydrological cross-sectio
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Depth (m) 316 315 314 313 312 311 M
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FURTHER INVESTIGATIONS AND MANAGEME
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Dealing with salinity in Wheatbelt Valleys - Department of Water

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