Salinity a key issue facing urban and rural communities
Some 300 delegates, representing Councils from all States and the Northern Territory, attended the National Local Government Salinity Summit in Echuca-Moama on 17-19 July. In the Summit Statement, drawn up at the conclusion of the three day event, delegates acknowledged that salinity is one of the most serious challenges facing urban and rural communities across Australia.
Greg Hoxley from Sinclair Knight Merz told delegates that salinity is the effect of the movement of natural salts in the landscape, with salt starting to move in response to human disturbance.
“Plants concentrate salt as they use water,” he said. “With native vegetation, salt stays fairly deep in the ground but with agricultural activity, particularly the removal of native perennials and the planting of annual crops, the watertable has been drawn up closer to the surface. Salinity is slow moving and hard to see, often coming into view after many years, but it takes even longer to turn it around.”
He said with shallow groundwater, Councils are experiencing damage to their roads, bridges, buried pipe assets and soil structure. In addition, higher watertables are increasing the risk of flooding, with recent examples of record flooding occurring without record rainfall.
“Your strategic plans must consider the issue of salinity, however, your response may in fact be as disruptive as the problem,” Greg Hoxley warned.
Hosted by the Murray Darling Association, the Salinity Summit was modelled on the very successful Local Government Rural Roads Congresses.
“Feedback from delegates, and the high participation rate in all sessions, indicates that running such an event on an annual basis needs to be considered,” said Leon Broster, Murray Darling Association’s General Manager.
National President of the Association, Councillor Brian Sharp, said that the importance of this issue is clearly reflected in the tremendous roll up of delegates, including a number of State Members of Parliament and a delegation from Iran. However, the Summit expressed its disappointment at the lack of attendance by senior Federal Parliamentarians.
“Salinity is a worldwide issue with all continents affected by inappropriate land uses,” said Alan Davie from Sinclair Knight Merz.. “Australia sits at the leading edge in battling its devastation,”
President of the Australian Local Government Association, Councillor John Ross, said that this is both an urban and rural issue.
“As well as the social, economic and environmental impact in rural regions, some 20,000 kilometres of roads are at risk, and in a number of town centres the watertable is now less than two metres below the surface,” he said. “Council infrastructure is suffering – with rising damp in buildings, the undermining of roads and destruction of trees in parks.”
He said it is vital that Local Government plays a key role in the National Action Plan, a $1.4 billion project over seven years.
On the National Action Plan, the Summit Statement declared that, ‘The Summit believes that notwithstanding the important role of Local Government, all stakeholders have a role to play in the development and management for the National Action Plan, and the Summit calls upon the relevant ministers to facilitate this process across governments.’
The findings of the National Land and Water Resources Audit on salinity show that some 5.7 million hectares are currently at risk, and that this could triple in the next 50 years to 17.1 million hectares.
The Murray Darling Association is now offering a risk assessment service to Councils at a discounted fee.
For further information contact Leon Broster, telephone (08) 8226 0582.
