Salinity
The clearing of native vegetation and planting of shallow rooted crops can cause groundwater to rise, pass through new soil, and dissolve naturally occurring salts. This highly saline water can eventually appear on or near the ground surface, causing 'dryland salinity', damaging soil structure and natural plants, and becoming unsuitable for drinking or irrigation. The water may also find its way directly to rivers and streams, where it severely damages plant and animal life, and may have effects hundreds of kilometres downstream.
Rising levels of salinity in surface and groundwater are among the biggest environmental challenges facing Western Australia. In the south west of the State, 18 million hectares of the 25 million originally covered by native vegetation have been cleared. About 1.8 million are now salt affected.
The Department of Water runs a broad Salinity Management Program, working with other state agencies, regional Natural Resource Management (NRM) groups, communities and the Commonwealth Government to research and deliver effective responses to the salinisation of land and water.
The Program aims to protect and restore key water resources, and ensure salinity levels are kept to a level that permits a safe and sustainable supply of water for the benefit of present and future generations.
For further information on the Salinity Management Program, please download the brochure below.
