Salinity Province 108, Shepparton Kialla

Salinity in the Shepparton_Kialla Salinity Province is primarily associated with the irrigation development on the Broken River floodplain where it meets the Goulburn River floodplain.

A moderate sized province of some 32,000 ha, irrigation water is mainly sourced from the East Goulburn Main channel with some diversion from the Broken River. The province is underlain by local and regional scale Groundwater Flow Systems (GFSs) comprised of alluvial plains unconsolidated sediments. The shallow, local scale GFSs contain small ‘shoe-string sand’ aquifers, which influence salinity occurrence and management. Soil waterlogging and salinity was caused by a rise in the watertable due to increased recharge from irrigation development, poor surface drainage and the wetter climatic phase from the 1950s to 1990s. Orchards in the area were particularly affected in the 1970s. Depth to watertable maps going back to the 1980’s can be found on the Goulburn-Broken CMA website (external link). These show the dynamic nature of the watertable, which declined and contracted during the 1999 - 2009 drought decade.

The management of salinity and high watertables is through an integrated program of improved irrigation water use efficiency, surface drainage, groundwater pumping and environmental protection works and incentives.