Salinity Province 57, Lake Corangamite

The Lake Corangamite Salinity Province is the largest of the Corangamite CMA provinces at over 123,000 ha.

Apart from Lake Corangamite itself, the area is dominated by two contrasting Groundwater Flow Systems. A larger proportion is a local scale GFS of scoria cones and stony rises, which form an important freshwater groundwater supply system. The second is a local-intermediate scale GFS located within an older sedimentary material called the Pliocene sands, which mostly occurs beneath the volcanics. Most of the mapped salinity in this province is associated with this second system, where natural saline lakes and brackish shallow watertables under poorly drained depressions cause fluctuating areas of waterlogging and soil salinisation depending on the prevailing seasonal conditions.

The most appropriate salinity response is to live with it, as it is a natural feature of many parts of this province, especially around the margins of Lake Corangamite. Revegetation and protection of saline areas and their margins from stock access in wet times will protect soil structure and reduce erosion. Farm productivity is best maintained by focussing effort onto higher landscape positions with well drained soils.