Resource Condition Monitoring - Land Salinity

This project (also known as the GAPS project) aims to fill the present highest priority gaps in the groundwater monitoring program and develop a targeted surface water monitoring program. This project will build on the existing infrastructure and standardised monitoring protocols for ground and surface water data collection. The project is the Land Salinity portion of a much larger project to enhance the Resource Condition Monitoring in all Australian states. This project is funded by National Heritage Trust and the National Action Plan.

In the period 2005-2008 the NRM Regions in Western Australia will be allocating approximately $400 million of regional community, State and Federal Government investments under the Natural Heritage Trust and National Action Plan to ensure natural resources are protected and used sustainably. To do this effectively, the NRM Regions need to be able to understand what condition their natural resources are in, if they are improving, maintaining or degrading. They need to be able to respond to problem areas by implementing appropriate on-ground actions and assessing whether their efforts have been effective. Resource condition monitoring is crucial for enabling continuous improvement through an adaptive approach to the management of natural resources. Appropriate resource condition monitoring systems must therefore be designed to identify and track threats, understand the status and trends in natural resource condition, and assess progress made by the NRM Regions.

^{WA NRM Zones
(Click on the map for a larger image)}

Rationale

The highest priority is to enhance resource condition monitoring capability by utilising and building on existing monitoring infrastructure, and by providing resources for regional technical support, through common database management systems. The analyses for the National Land and Water Resources Audit (2000), and the Salinity Investment Framework - Phase I (2003), both identified a number of landscapes in Western Australia where there is no data, or insufficient data to determine trends in groundwater levels and salinity hazard (particularly the Northern Agricultural NRM Region).

Resource condition monitoring is critical for determining trends in status or condition. There are significant soil/landscape zones in Western Australia with no groundwater bore monitoring.

Effective NRM requires appropriate action at all levels

^{(Click for larger image)}

Background

In 1998, ‘Land Monitor’ completed the first systematic evaluation of the extent of saline land in the agricultural area of Western Australia. The project determined the extent and trend in land salinity for the decadal period ending 1998 and it is proposed that this benchmark be used to assess this indicator. A repeat of this project is conservatively estimated to require $1.5 million over 3 years.

Over 1,000 bores are currently monitored by the Department of Agriculture for the ‘Saltwatch’ database. This database contains records of drilling and time series data on water level and electrical conductivity. Spread from Geraldton to Esperance, Saltwatch bores are monitored quarterly and provide direct evidence of the effect of climate and land use. (See map on right)

An additional 2,000 bores record the impact of specific treatments on the distribution of salinity and its risk. A further 2,000 bores collated from non-agency programs completes the data record. However, the existing database is not sufficiently well distributed to record regional trends in many significant landscapes, particularly in the Perth basin or the eastern wheatbelt. In some areas, it has an insufficient distribution to effectively monitor the impact of management actions on resource condition.

Saltwatch Bores

^{(click for larger image)}

Land Salinity Monitoring

State-wide objectives are to develop a long-term strategic approach to resource condition monitoring under a framework that coordinates and integrates salinity monitoring in NRM Regions across the states. Monitoring will take place at two scales:

• Landscape scale - track the extent and trends in salinity risk/hazard to establish a dataset for measuring resource condition.
  
  Water table trend + land area extent = salinity risk/hazard

• Catchment scale - groundwater level monitoring alone is unable to directly evaluate and link the outcomes from specific on-ground management actions designed to meet desired water-balance targets at a catchment scale. Low-cost rainfall and runoff gauging in key wheatbelt catchments in each NRM Region, will monitor the rainfall and surface water components of the water balance to link management actions to catchment water level changes and modify regional trends.

The time series monitoring data will be archived on the Department of Agriculture and Foods Research database and interpretations made available to stakeholders at local, State and National scales.

Outcomes

• Extent and trends in land and water salinity assessed and reported
• Relevant and quality data collected for analysing the impact of management actions on resource condition
• Demonstrate the impacts of management actions on the local and regional water levels and the rate and extent of land salinisation.
• Salinity management targeted to land and related assets, at highest risk
• Investment analysis and works informed by high quality data and interpretations
• Groundwater resources being managed to maintain or improve water quality