The large Cowangie_Underbool Salinity Province is some 216,000 ha and contains mostly primary salinity associated with Pink Lakes and other ephemeral lake features of the Murray-Sunset National Park.
As with all other Mallee CMA region salinity provinces, this province is underlain by a regional scale Groundwater Flow System (GFS) comprising marine and alluvial origin sediments containing high salinity groundwater. Salt deposits are a natural feature of this semi-arid landscape.
While structural geological processes may allow deep groundwater to discharge to the primary salinity features, this province is also overlain by local scale GFSs of sand dunes and inter-dune swales, where secondary salinity associated with the development of cropping and higher rainfall periods has, at times, developed on lower lying parts of the landscape. This can adversely affect cropping activity on the relatively small areas of farmland. Avoiding these areas and optimising plant water use are appropriate management responses to these occurrences.
|