Groundwater pumping for salinity control
Abstract
The viability of the lucrative dairy industry in the Macalister Irrigation District in Gippsland Victoria is highly dependent on the on-going operation of groundwater pumps to reduce the effects of land salinity. The current State Government funded salinity program addresses the causes and symptoms of
salinity by encouraging greater irrigation efficiency and groundwater pumping respectively. A subsidised groundwater investigation program is available to landowners in high water table areas to find suitable groundwater supplies for irrigation. Public pumps are installed in high water table areas where groundwater salinity is too high for irrigation with the pumped water disposed to drains, rivers and lakes.
There are a number of innovations in program delivery including prioritising key assets which are both vulnerable and exposed to salinity and using a groundwater flow systems approach combined with groundwater modelling to allow investigation of the overall water balance of a region. Decision-making is based on the environmental, social and economic costs of action versus non action taking into account the impact on other natural resource management issues such as nutrient management. Community based “implementation committees” guide the implementation of the program which builds awareness and community ownership of the solutions.
Authors
A.K. Harrison & K.A. Hook