Overview
Salinity impacts on farm productivity and on the quality of our environment and natural resources. Localised salt stores are a normal part of the Australian landscape and most salt stores never become a problem. It is only when they are mobilised that they can become a problem for farmers and the environment.
The Community Stream Sampling and Salinity Mapping (CSSSM) project is identifying salt deposits in the Murray Darling Basin. Managers will use the data collected to manage salinity. The CSSSM project involves a combination of community participation in stream sampling programmes and airborne mapping technology. Stream sampling results will be combined with mapping data to develop effective salinity management options.
The CSSSM project is funded under the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality (NAP), and delivered in South Australia by the SA Murray-Darling Basin Natural Resources Management Board (SA MDB NRM).
It was a 2004 election commitment of the Australian Government to provide $20 million to map the occurrence of salt in the Murray Darling Basin.
There are four Bureau of Rural Sciences (BRS) projects across the SA Murray-Darling Basin that involve the community in monitoring to address the salinity threat (see map).
The South Australian community stream monitoring component of the Community Stream Sampling and Salinity Mapping project was officially launched by the Hon. David Wotton, Presiding Member of the South Australian Murray-Darling Basin Natural Resources Management Board at Murray Bridge on 16th May 2007. The project runs until July 2008.
Community Involvement:
The four projects involve volunteers with monthly recording of salinity in local streams and aquifers, as part of a basin-wide study by the Bureau of Rural Sciences (BRS) CSSSM Project.
The projects are an acknowledgment that community based monitoring is considered to have real value. By participating in the projects volunteers will be offered support through quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) training sessions (including nationally accredited training) and loan equipment. During these training sessions quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) is addressed through the testing of “mystery solutions”. In this way, community members will be able to demonstrate their data accuracy and enabling salinity data to be added to the basin-wide salinity study.
Project officers will assist in the development of monitoring plans so monitoring data can be consistent with standards such as the SA MDB NRM Board’s Monitoring and Evaluation Framework.
These projects offer a lot for natural resource management not just in increased data uptake by agencies and environmental managers, but offer the community:
- Increased training opportunities included a nationally accredited training module in water testing
- Support through loan equipment
- Provision of data to BRS to be posted on their website
- Increased data interpretation support
- Assisting the prioritization of on-ground works
Facts Sheets
Measuring Salinity (Conversion) (117kb)
Bore Purging (193kb)
Farm Dam Salinity Audit of the Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges (1mb)
Media Releases
BRS Official Launch (87kb)
Community Stream Sampling and Salinity Mapping in the Murray-Darling Basin Newsletter Ed 2 (1mb)
Events
Nationally Accredited Training in Water Quality:
Training is offered right across the S.A. Murray-Darling Basin region. Please register an expression of interest by completing the Registration Form or contacting the Project Officer Greg Lundstrom on 8532 1432. You will be contacted about the next training opportunity in your area.
Water Quality Workshop Registration Form (185kb)
Related Projects
“Hotspots” accredited training Project:
The standardized community monitoring of salinity at a regional level project (the HOTSPOT project) will build on the existing SA MDB wide network of community monitors collecting salinity related data, and work to have the data collected comply with a standardized level of accuracy. This will be achieved by providing nationally accredited training to project officers and a wide range of community members. Engagement will occur with both new and existing groups involved in community monitoring programs from the border to the Murray Mouth.
Greg Lundstrom,
Community Monitoring Project Officer
SA Murray-Darling Basin NRM Board
PO Box 2343, MURRAY BRIDGE, SA 5253
Phone: 8532 1432 - Mob: 0429 697 319
Fax: 8531 1843 or
Email to: greg.lundstrom@samdbnrm.sa.gov.au
Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges Projects:
The Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges (EMLR) project provides for training and support in monitoring water quality, with a view to address the highly variable characteristics of the different catchments in the area. Some catchments have been identified as contributing high salt loads to the River Murray and the effect on the water table of existing on-ground works such as revegetation needs to be monitored. There is a need to better understand the quality of the EMLR water resource for domestic, agricultural and horticultural use and for supporting the environmental values of water dependent ecosystems in the region. A farm dam salinity study and updating and analysis of salinity trends in the EMLR sub-catchments forms part of this project.
Greg Lundstrom,
Community Monitoring Project Officer
SA Murray-Darling Basin NRM Board
PO Box 2343, MURRAY BRIDGE, SA 5253
Phone: 8532 1432 - Mob: 0429 697 319
Fax: 8531 1843 or
Email to: greg.lundstrom@samdbnrm.sa.gov.au
Burra-Truro Project:
In the Burra to Truro area, the SA MDB NRM Board has recently begun investigating the water resources responding to community concerns about the state of these water resources. The area of study under this project is an area of approximately 7,000 km2 bordered by the Northern Mount Lofty Ranges to the west, which define the boundary of the basin. The area from Burra in the north, to Truro in the south contains more than 20 ephemeral creeks of varying sizes, many of which predominantly run through private property. The apparent lack of water availability has implications for the ecosystems that these creeks and permanent pools support such as sustaining native flora and fauna and providing refuge for native species (including fish) in times of drought. Salinity levels in several of the creeks and some adjacent groundwater bores is also moderately high and the limited data that is available suggests that it may be rising.
Caren Martin
Project Officer
SA Murray-Darling Basin NRM Board
PO Box 1374 Berri SA 5343
Ph: (08) 8582 4477
Fax: (08) 8582 4488
Mob: 0427 979 054
Email to: caren.martin@samdbnrm.sa.gov.au
Sarah Kuchel
Senior Project Officer, Mallee & Burra Water Resources
SA Murray-Darling Basin NRM Board
PO Box 1374
2 Wade Street
BERRI SA 5343
Ph: 08 8582 4477
Fax: (08) 8582 4488
Mob: 0427 394 719
Email to: sarah.kuchel@samdbnrm.sa.gov.au
Coorong Project:
The Coorong Project is comprised of seven smaller projects that aim at enhancing groundwater level and salinity monitoring in the Coorong District Local Action Planning area. The Coorong District LAP area comprises of 900,000 ha stretching from Tailem Bend in the north, the Narrung peninsula in the west, Salt Creek in the south and almost to Keith in the east. Currently 50,000 ha of land are affected by dryland salinity, with a further 70,000 ha at risk in the future. The project has a strong focus on building community capacity to monitor groundwater levels and salinity at various locations in the area. The projects are supported by a number of partnerships including local community groups and SAMDBNRMB and DWLBC staff.
Graham Gates
Project Officer
Coorong District Local Action Planning Group
PO Box 1021 Tintinara 5266
Ph: (08) 8757 2100
Fax: (08) 8757 222
Mob: 0427 572 330
Email to: ggates@coorong.sa.gov.au
Lesley Cameron
Implementation Officer
Coorong District Local Action Planning Group
PO Box 1021 Tintinara 5266
Ph: (08) 8757 2100
Fax: (08) 8757 222
Mob: 0427 750 050
Email to: lcameron@coorong.sa.gov.au
Links