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Irrigators in the Goulburn Broken tackle salinity while saving water
Shepparton irrigators are protecting productive land and water resources from salinity by installing groundwater pumps that remove excess water from the watertable.
As a result of the extensive clearing of the region's native vegetation cover, watertables have slowly risen to the surface, bringing dissolved salts with them. Deep-rooted native plants and perennial pastures act as natural pumps by soaking up groundwater and keeping watertables low. In their absence, watertables have nowhere to go but up, a problem which is exacerbated in irrigated areas.
The Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority's (CMA) Sub-surface Drainage Programme is an incentive scheme that has led to the installation of hundreds of groundwater pumps on private irrigated land in the region. These have resulted in a variety of benefits for landowners and the environment.
Funding
Assistance for the program has been provided to Goulburn Broken CMA by the Australian and State Governments. The Victorian Department of Primary Industries is a key project partner.
Activities
Executive Officer for the Shepparton Irrigation Region Implementation Committee Ken Sampson said over the past 15 years more than 250 pumps had been installed Farmers could claim rebates for the costs of installation.
If salt levels in extracted groundwater were relatively low, irrigators mixed or 'shandied' the water with their own farm supplies for reuse on crops and pastures, saving water in the process. But if salt levels were too high for shandying on an individual property, a public pump was installed to provide watertable and salinity control across several properties.
"The saline groundwater is pumped into the regional irrigation channel and drainage network for reuse by irrigators downstream of the public pump," he said. "Regional reuse of the saline groundwater then reduces the salt loads leaving the catchment."
A key aspect of the programme was the farm exploratory drilling scheme, which managed the risks associated with groundwater pumping for the landowner and the environment.
"Landowners are assisted by experts who can determine the proper siting of pumps to ensure they don't affect the long-term quality of the groundwater or impact on the health of the farm and broader catchment," Ken said.
Achievements
Each year the pumps re-use about 30,000 megalitres of excess water from below the surface and have the potential to dispose of more than 8,000 tonnes of salt.
"In doing so, the groundwater pumps are estimated to protect an irrigated area of about 36,000 hectares annually," Ken said.
More information
- Ken Sampson, Executive Officer, Shepparton Irrigation Region Implementation Committee: (03) 5833 5360 or ken.sampson@dpi.vic.gov.au
- Goulburn Broken CMA
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