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Salinity Province 93, Pakenham Bunyip

Thumbnail image showing the location of the Pakenham Bunyip Salinity Province in VictoriaThe Pakenham_Bunyip Salinity Province is a small province that straddles the Princess Freeway about 60 km southeast of Melbourne. Apart from its residential western edge, landuse in the province is mostly grazing on modified pasture. However, major residential development is occurring throughout the area, which will have significant ongoing effects on catchment hydrology and therefore soil & water salinity. The southern half of the province is part of the Westernport Plain, consisting of Quaternary alluvium, with intermediate to regional scale Groundwater Flow Systems (GFSs). The province becomes undulating to hilly in the north, where the more complex geology results in many local scale GFSs associated with weathered granite, colluvium and stream alluvium, and local to intermediate scale GFSs in fractured Palaeozoic meta-sedimentary rocks.

Only 0.2% of the Province has been mapped as saline, with most of this located east of Pakenham associated with the weathered granite and colluvium.

The highest impact treatment options include; productive uses of saline land in discharge areas, especially salt tolerant pastures, and recharge control through tree planting and potentially some groundwater pumping in the colluvium.



Province Attributes

Catchment Management Region:PORT PHILLIP & WESTERNPORT
Priority Status:High
Province Area:27,870 ha
Recorded Soil Salinity Area 1:50 ha
Dominant Surface Geology Type:Sedimentary
Influence of Geological Structure on Salinity Occurrence/s:Possible
Relevant Geomorphological Mapping Units (GMUs):7.1.X, 1.4.5
Predominant Groundwater Flow Systems (GFSs):Local & Local/Intermediate
Relevant Irrigation Areas:N/A


Pakenham Bunyip Salinity Province Map

A detailed map showing the Pakenham Bunyip 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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