Salinity Province 56, Lake Buloke

The Lake Buloke Salinity Province covers the large terminal lake system of the Avon-Richardson River, parts of which are significant wild life habitat. Its major features consist of the large “Lake Buloke” and small ancillary lakes together with their large lunette systems on their eastern sides. Extensive saline zones have developed in the lakebed when dry and in the lakeside lunette swales.

This province has the largest percentage of mapped saline land area outside of the Mallee CMA region (and the third highest overall) with over 17% of its area mapped as saline. It has a regional scale Groundwater Flow System (GFS) in alluvial and marine sediments, overlain by local to intermediate scale GFSs in the lunette sediments. Occasional flooding combined with upward groundwater pressure in the regional scale GFS beneath the terminal lakes has allowed evaporative concentration to increase groundwater salinity to half that of seawater.

Management options are limited, so living with salinity is required. Improved upper catchment conditions through greater use of perennial plants in farming systems and the post drought decline in groundwater levels should reduce salt loads entering the lakes in future.