Dealing with salinity in Wheatbelt Valleys - Department of Water

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informed decisions concerning deep drainage. Optimal management strategies can be recommended and applied only after the impacts of such strategies have been evaluated. However, it is incumbent on the researchers and organisations involved in these projects to ensure that data are passed on to the public, landholders and contractors in a timely manner to ensure that only appropriate practices are adopted and continued. Figure 6: A main drain silted up due to spoil bank slumping and erosion Other engineering options should also be considered and evaluated as part of an integrated approach to water management in wheatbelt landscapes. These include surface water control structures and groundwater pumping. For example, windmill/solar pumping may be considered as previous long-term windmill experiments have shown that under the right conditions pumping rates of 15-30 m 3 /day can be achieved. In the experimental catchments examined, this resulted in a reduction of water levels by up to 2 m at radial distances of more than 1 km after several years of pumping (Salama et al. 1994). A revised approach to water management, involving the use of earthworks to manage surface and shallow sub-surface water and re-distribute that water more evenly within the catchment, is being considered as a tool for recharge management. The methods proposed deal with managing: (1) surface water from upper and middle catchment into dams or discharge areas in lower catchment; (2) recharge in the upper catchment; and (3) the impact of waterlogging and salinity in broad valley floors. (Coles & Ali 2000). An integrated approach to catchment planning and water management in the landscape that includes re-vegetation options and farming systems is viewed as one of the most important aspects of salinity management. – 7 – Ali and Coles CONCLUSIONS Effective management of soil salinity and waterlogging is one of the biggest challenges currently faced by farmers in the Wheatbelt of WA. Agronomic manipulations have had only limited success and require long time frames and large areas to be managed under these systems. Engineering solutions have been increasingly seen as viable for the management of waterlogging and soil salinity in the Wheatbelt. Many farmers have constructed drains at various locations and landscapes in the Wheatbelt. However, there is a lack of formal evaluation of deep drainage which has made it difficult for agencies to provide a formalised set of guidelines for their construction, placement and effectiveness. Only limited in-depth scientific studies have been completed on drainage of dryland areas of Western Australia. Large-scale drainage designs need to be evaluated at the catchment scale to ensure that the effectiveness and impacts of these systems are fully understood. Current studies on drainage address some of these issues. Guidelines, drafted after proper design evaluations, will help minimise sedimentation, erosion, maintenance costs and increase drain efficiency. Similarly positive or adverse impacts of drains on downstream farmers, wetlands, streams and environment need to be addressed. However, the integration of surface water management strategies with other management options (e.g. trees, alternate-farming systems) are viewed as a vital part of the catchment planning REFERENCES Allison, G.B. & Hughes, M.W. (1983). The use of natural tracers as indicators of soil-water movement in a temperate semi-arid region. Journal of Hydrology, 60: 157- 73. Bettenay, E. (1978). Deep drainage as a method for treating saltland. Journal of Agriculture Western Australia, 19: 110-111. Berhane, D. (1999). Progress report on the performance of agricultural drainage in the Belka Valley. Agriculture Western Australia. Unpublished. Coles, N.A., George, R.J. & Bathgate, A.D. (1999). An assessment of the efficacy of deep drains constructed in the Wheatbelt of Western Australia. Bulletin 4391, Department of Agriculture, Perth, 28 pp.
Ali and Coles Coles, N.A. & Ali, M.S. (2000). Implications for surface water management on recharge and catchment water balance. In: Proceedings Hydro2000 Conference, Perth, Western Australia. Coles, N.A., Simons, J., Laing, I.A.F & Hauck, J.E. (2000). Farm water planning strategies for dryland agricultural areas: Local and regional perspectives. In: Proceedings Xth World Water Congress, Melbourne. Cox, J.W. & McFarlane, D.J. (1995). The causes of waterlogging in shallow soils and their drainage in southwestern Australia. Journal of Hydrology, 167: 175-194. Drainage Taskforce (2000). Deep Drainage in Southwest Western Australia - making it work, not proving it wrong. Government of WA, Misc. Pub. 5/2000. Ferdowsian, R., George, R., Lewis, F., McFarlane, D., Short, R. & Speed, R. (1997). The extent of dryland salinity in Western Australia. In: Proceedings 4th National Conference and Workshop on the Productive Use of Saline Lands, Albany, Western Australia Promoco Conventions Pty Ltd: 89–97. George, P.R. (1985). Drainage prospects for saline wheatbelt soils. WADA. Journal of Agriculture, 26(4): 109- 111. George, P.R. (1991). Review of subsurface drainage for saltland reclamation. DRM Technical Report (Unpublished). George, R.J., Nulsen, R.A, Ferdowsian, R. & Raper, G.P. (1999). Interactions between trees and groundwaters in recharge and discharge areas – a survey of Western Australian sites. Agricultural Water Management, 39: 91- 113. Hatton, T.J. & Nulsen, R.A. (1999). Towards achieving functional ecosystem mimicry with respect to water cycling in southern Australian agriculture. Agroforestry Systems, 45: 203-14. \ – 8 – Luke J.P. (2000). Review of drainage and surface water management in farming areas. WRC Draft Report (Unpublished). McFarlane, D.J., Wheaton, G.A., Negus, T.R. & Wallace, J.F. (1992). Effects of waterlogging on crop growth and pasture production in the Upper great Southern, Western Australia. Agriculture Western Australia, Technical Bulletin No. 86. Nulsen, R.A. (1983). Review of current drainage investigations in Western Australia. Department of Agriculture WA, DRM Technical Report No. 8. Nulsen, R.A., Bligh, K.J., Baxter, I.N., Solin, E.J. & Imrie, D.H. (1986). The fate of rainfall in a mallee and heath vegetated catchment in southern Western Australia. Australian Journal Ecology, 11: 361-371. Pannell, D.J. (2001). Salinity Policy: Inevitable, inequitable, intractable? Presidential address, 45 th Annual Conference of Australian Agriculture and Research Economic Society, Adelaide, 23-25 January. Salama, R.B., Otto, C.J., Bartle, G.A. & Watson, G.D. (1994). Management of saline groundwater discharge by long-term windmill pumping in the wheatbelt of Western Australia. Speed, R.J. & Simons, J.A.S. (1992). Deep drains – A case study and discussion. Department of Agriculture WA, DRM Technical Report No. 133. Wood, W. E. (1924). Increase of salt in soil and streams following the destruction of the Native Vegetation. Journal of Royal Society of Western Australia, X(7):35.
Page 1 and 2: Foreword Dealing with Salinity in W
Page 3 and 4: 1Day one: Monday 30th July. Field t
Page 5 and 6: Papers Dealing with Salinity in Whe
Page 7 and 8: Ali and Coles biggest challenges fa
Page 9 and 10: Ali and Coles erosion, maintenance
Page 11: Ali and Coles expected under these
Page 15 and 16: Commander, Schoknecht, Verboom and
Page 41 and 42: APPRECIATING AND CREATING OUR HISTO
Page 43 and 44: services. The Government responded
Page 45 and 46: WHEATBELT VALLEYS IN DIFFICULTIES T
Page 47 and 48: argue that they were really abnorma
Page 49 and 50: 1990s, the wheatbelt valleys in par
Page 51 and 52: REFERENCES Agstats (1997). Agricult
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George and Coleman SPECIES Table 5:
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George and Coleman advantages of so
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George and Coleman this volume). In
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George and Coleman Venture Economy
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George and Coleman Lawrence, C. (19
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Hatton and Ruprecht WATCHING THE RI
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Since the mid 1970s annual rainfall
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Effect of clearing on runoff The ot
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Salinity Monthly streamflow (ML) 10
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The ratio of the salt outputs to in
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- 11 - Hatton and Ruprecht Table 4:
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THE FUTURE In looking at the future
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McFarlane, D.J., George, R.J. & Far
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Keighery, Halse and McKenzie Terres
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Keighery, Halse and McKenzie Wetlan
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Keighery, Halse and McKenzie specie
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Keighery, Halse and McKenzie enviro
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Lloyd number of legal cases pending
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Lloyd 0 -500 -1000 -1500 -2000 -250
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Lloyd Table 3. Sheep grazing days i
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Lloyd Hectares project to provide w
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INTRODUCTION The Lake Chinocup Catc
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agriculture) in various stages, the
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- 3,477 ha of remnant vegetation or
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Scientists talk of up to 30% of the
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6320000 6300000 6280000 6260000 624
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Although the waterlogged area under
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eliminates drainage through the nex
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REFERENCES Dawes, W.R., Stauffacher
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Pannell ECONOMICS, SOCIETY AND ENVI
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Pannell • the area of land protec
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Pannell Proposals to construct majo
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Pannell been conducted for the Cent
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Pannell investments in long-term la
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Pannell Pannell, D.J. (2001). Dryla
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Porter, Bartle and Cooper Table 1:
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Porter, Bartle and Cooper operation
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Porter, Bartle and Cooper Increase
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Porter, Bartle and Cooper support i
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Porter, Bartle and Cooper that is a
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CASE STUDY - TOOLIBIN LAKE AND CATC
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• The distribution, storage and m
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Secondly, there is a set of practic
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within three categories: relationsh
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CONCLUSIONS Actions to protect and
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FIELD TOUR LOCATIONS FIELD TOUR NOT
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COLES FARM “Avon River Basin Over
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Conference Outcomes Dealing with Sa
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with Salinity in Wheatbelt Valleys:
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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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