Mosaic Map: NRM funded projects
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Salt assault across the region
There's 30,000 hectares of groundwater-driven secondary salinity visibly scarring the landscape of South Australia's Northern and Yorke region.
Even more startling, the area of salt-affected land could increase by half again within 50 years, should groundwater continue to rise.
Funding
To limit the threat of salinity $60,000 has been provided by the Australian and State Government to the Northern and Yorke Natural Resource Management (NRM) Board for the “Catchment Planning for Salinity Management” project.
This practical program helps local landholders work alongside salinity consultants from Rural Solutions SA to identify practical options to manage catchment salinity.
Activities
Senior Consultant Trevor Dooley said plans were completed for all high priority salinity catchments in the Northern and Yorke region.
“The plans describe the hydrogeological features of the catchment, identify the current extent and future risk of salinity, review the management options available and recommend actions for high priority areas,” Trevor said.
“Landholders have already received incentives for and advice on on-ground activities like fencing saline scalds, replanting recharge areas and establishing perennial pastures as part of the planning.
Achievements
The plans have guided landholders, community bodies and local councils in many activities including the installation of surface drainage, clay spreading on sand hills, fencing and replanting saltland, fodder blocks and community monitoring of groundwater levels.
Efforts within the region have been given due recognition, with Yorke Peninsula farmer Wolford Parsons receiving the State's 2006 Landcare Award for primary production, and the Northern and Yorke NRM Board receiving an invitation to present a salinity management paper at the 2008 International Salinity Forum.
As the program continues, significant progress is being made towards the Board's targets of reducing groundwater level rise and salinity levels in water bodies, and improving productivity returns from saltland.
The ultimate aim is to halt the rise in saline groundwater levels in local and intermediate groundwater systems, and to improve economic productivity in 50 per cent of primary production land affected by salinity by 2010.
More information
- Trevor Dooley, Senior Consultant, Rural Solutions SA: (08) 8568 6418 or dooley.trevor@saugov.sa.gov.au
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