10024: Ensuring the long-term effectiveness of saltland reclamation adjacent to the Moore River, Gillingarra
Rising groundwater and salinity continue to damage agricultural land, public infrastructure and vegetation at Gillingarra in the wheatbelt.
Salt accumulated through evaporation of discharging groundwater on the Gillingarra flats is transported into the nearby Moore River after rain, contributing to the salt load of the river and having potential ecological, economic and social impacts downstream.
The West Koojan-Gillingarra Land Conservation District Committee (LCDC) and landholders have carried out substantial works over the past 10 years to mitigate the effects of rising groundwater. This included the installation of a deep drain in the road-rail corridor. The drain took excess groundwater from the catchment and reduced the salinity of the drain water discharged to the river from saline to brackish.
However, the performance of the drain was seriously affected when the sides slumped over time.
With the help of State NRM Program funding, this project will ensure the continued effectiveness of the drain by installing perforated pipe in the existing drain and backfilling it with blue metal to create an efficient subsurface deep drain.
|Investment:||$ 50 000|
|Delivery organisation:||West Koojan–Gillingarra Land Conservation District Committee|
|Project duration:||December 2011 - September 2012|
|Location:||Gillingarra, 30 km south of Moora, Northern Agricultural region|
Purpose of project
- Project was to continue the mitigation of the salinity in the region through installation of infrastructure and modifying surrounds due to rainfall and water movement continually altering the topsoil morphology.