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Victorian Resources Online

  1. Landform
  2. Land Use
  3. Soil
  4. Land and Water Management
    1. Catchment Management
    2. Invasive Plants
    3. Land Degradation
    4. Irrigated Agriculture
    5. Catchment Hydrology
    6. Salinity Management
      1. History of Salinity Management
      2. Dryland Salinity
      3. Irrigation Salinity
      4. Urban Salinity
      5. Mapping and Monitoring Salinity Incidence
      6. Salinity Indicator Plants
      7. Salinity Provinces
        1. Corangamite CMA
        2. East Gippsland CMA
        3. Goulburn Broken CMA
        4. Glenelg Hopkins CMA
        5. Mallee CMA
        6. North Central CMA
        7. North East CMA
        8. Port Phillip and Westernport CMA
        9. West Gippsland CMA
        10. Wimmera CMA
      8. Declared Water Supply Catchments

Salinity Province 127, Watchem West

Thumbnail image showing the location of the Watchem West Salinity Province in VictoriaThe Watchem West Salinity Province is located in the northern section of the Wimmera Catchment west of Lake Buloke on the broad flat riverine plain. Dryland cropping is common along with grazing on annual and perennial pasture. It has a regional scale Groundwater Flow System (GFS) consisting of marine and alluvial sediments and an extensive ‘deep lead’ (paleo-river channel) system underlying a broad alluvial plain.

The province also has a wide extent of shallow groundwater in local scale GFSs in aeolian and alluvial sediments, with salinity expressed as discrete occurrences in some low-lying parts of the landscape. The monitoring bore network records groundwater in both the upper and lower aquifers and indicates a shallow watertable of high salinity.

‘Living-with-salt’ options have generally been adopted with the salt affected areas being only infrequently grazed or revegetated with native species.



Province Attributes

Catchment Management Region:WIMMERA
Priority Status:High
Province Area:97,410 ha
Recorded Soil Salinity Area 1:556 ha
Dominant Surface Geology Type:Sedimentary
Influence of Geological Structure on Salinity Occurrence/s:None
Relevant Geomorphological Mapping Units (GMUs):5.4, 5.1.5
Predominant Groundwater Flow Systems (GFSs):Local & Regional
Relevant Irrigation Areas:N/A


Watchem West Salinity Province Map

A detailed map showing the Watchem West Salinity Province


Links to further reading and material related to the Wimmera Salinity Province
For further information relating to groundwater levels and salinities in this Province please see: Visualising Victoria's Groundwater (VVG)



1 Please Note: The ‘Recorded Soil Salinity Area’ indicated in the Salinity Province Attribute Table, comprises the total geographic area that has been mapped as having, or showing symptoms of, dryland soil salinity at some time (past or present). As dryland salinity occurrence in the Victorian landscape exhibits many different levels of severity and can change due to climate, landuse and vegetation, previously mapped areas may no longer be showing symptoms. In addition, as not all parts of the State have been mapped, or mapped in the same way, the mapping may not have captured some occurrences.

The soil salinity mapping used to calculate this ‘area’ does not cover irrigation regions. In irrigation regions, depth to watertable and watertable salinity mapping has been used to convey the threat of high watertables on soil waterlogging and/or soil salinisation and these areas are not included in this ‘area‘ calculation.

Please contact the Department, your Catchment Management Authority or your rural water provider for more information about salinity in your location.
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