The relatively small Paradise Salinity Province is the headwater catchment of the Richardson River where a number of tributaries drain the northern slopes of the Great Dividing Range.
Local to intermediate scale Groundwater Flow Systems (GFSs) in fractured and deeply weathered Palaeozoic rocks and minor alluvials underlie the province. Undulating topography forms a horseshoe shaped stream system restricting subsurface drainage. The sub-catchment contains extensive ‘break-of-slope’ salinity expressed on the valley floor alluvial material below weathered meta-sedimentary ridges.
Small ‘break-of-slope’ tree plantings have had little effect on the discharge sites, whilst perennial pastures (lucerne) have been more successful. Groundwater levels remained high in valley floors, but some fall in level has been observed on the upper slopes following the drought decade.
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