The Whittlesea-Craigieburn Salinity Province is a medium sized province centred 30 km north of Melbourne on its northern urban boundary. Current landuse is about 20 % residential with the remainder mostly grazing on improved pastures. Being a major residential development area, its rapidly increasing urbanisation will have significant effects on catchment hydrology and therefore soil & water salinity. The southwestern half of the Province is dominated by Quaternary basalt plains interspersed with distinct scoria cones and contains local to intermediate scale Groundwater Flow Systems (GFSs). The remainder of the province is dissected uplands of mostly Quaternary alluvium overlying Palaeozoic fractured bedrock, both of these units containing local to intermediate scale GFSs. |
Catchment Management Region: | PORT PHILLIP & WESTERNPORT |
Priority Status: | High |
Province Area: | 70,990 ha |
Recorded Soil Salinity Area 1: | 117 ha |
Dominant Surface Geology Type: | Sedimentary |
Influence of Geological Structure on Salinity Occurrence/s: | None |
Relevant Geomorphological Mapping Units (GMUs): | 6.1.2, 1.X |
Predominant Groundwater Flow Systems (GFSs): | Local/Intermediate |
Relevant Irrigation Areas: | N/A |