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Salinity Province 80, Mornington

Thumbnail image showing the location of the Mornington Salinity Province in VictoriaThe Mornington Salinity Province is a small province on the Mornington Peninsula, about 50 km southeast of Melbourne, about 0.5% of which has been mapped as saline. Landuse is currently about 30% urban and 70% rural, including grazing on improved pasture and high intensity horticulture.

There are projected increases in both urbanisation and intensive horticulture, which will have significant effects on catchment hydrology and therefore soil & water salinity. Two main local to intermediate scale Groundwater Flow Systems (GFSs) occur within this province; the older (Palaeozoic) and deeply weathered ‘Mornington’ Group fractured bedrock systems; and the overlying, younger (Neogene) and larger outcropping ‘Brighton Group’ sediments. Groundwater in the Mornington Group GFSs is considered of low to moderate salinity risk and ranges from 1000 mg/l to 8000 mg/l, while those in the Brighton Group GFSs range from 500 mg/l to 7000 mg/l and are of moderate to high risk. The major assets at risk from both GFSs include streams, engineering and urban infrastructure and agricultural land.

Treatment options in both systems include; biological management (eg. perennial pastures); engineering intervention (eg. surface and subsurface drainage) and ‘living-with-Salt’ (eg. salt tolerant pastures).



Province Attributes

Catchment Management Region:PORT PHILLIP & WESTERNPORT
Priority Status:High
Province Area:44,750 ha
Recorded Soil Salinity Area 1:226 ha
Dominant Surface Geology Type:Sedimentary
Influence of Geological Structure on Salinity Occurrence/s:Probable
Relevant Geomorphological Mapping Units (GMUs):3.3.1, 3.3.X
Predominant Groundwater Flow Systems (GFSs):Local/Intermediate
Relevant Irrigation Areas:N/A


Mornington Salinity Province Map

A detailed map showing the Mornington Salinity Province


Links to further reading and material related to the Port Phillip and Westernport Salinity Province
Groundwater Flow Systems (GFS) in the Port Phillip & Westernport CMR

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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