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SLUI 25 a Review of Groundwater Pumping to Manage Dryland Salinity

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SLUI 25 a Review of Groundwater Pumping to Manage Dryland Salinity A REVIEW OF GROUNDWATER PUMPING TO MANAGE DRYLAND SALINITY IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA Salinity and Land Use Impacts Series Groundwater pumping to manage salinity: Western Australia SLUI 25 A REVIEW OF GROUNDWATER PUMPING TO MANAGE DRYLAND SALINITY IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA by Shawan Dogramaci Resource Science Division Department of Environment DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT SALINITY AND LAND USE IMPACTS SERIES REPORT NO. SLUI 25 FEBRUARY 2004 i Groundwater pumping to manage salinity: Western Australia SLUI 25 Salinity and Land Use Impacts Series Acknowledgments The author acknowledges the comments of Drs Richard George, Ramsis Salama and Brad Degens in the preparation and editing of this document. For more information contact: Dr S. Dogramaci Salinity and Land Use Impacts Branch Resource Science Division Hyatt Centre 3 Plain Street East Perth WA 6004 Telephone 9278 0300 Facsimile 9278 0586 Recommended Reference The recommended reference for this publication is: Dogramaci, S 2004, A Review of groundwater pumping to manage dryland salinity in Western Australia Department of Environment, Salinity and Land Use Impacts Series Report No. SLUI 25. We welcome your feedback A publication feedback form can be found at the back of this publication, or online at www.wrc.wa.gov.au/public/feedback/ ISBN 1-920849-00-9 (Print) ISBN 1-920849-01-7 (PDF) ISSN 1447-7394 February 2004 Cover photograph: Discharge from Maxon Farm groundwater pumping trial by Mary-Ann Berti ii Salinity and Land Use Impacts Series Groundwater pumping to manage salinity: Western Australia SLUI 25 Contents Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................ii Recommended Reference..........................................................................................ii Contents ....................................................................................................................iii Summary ................................................................................................................... 1 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 3 2 Review objectives.................................................................................................. 4 3 Groundwater pumping ........................................................................................... 5 4 Aquifer types in Western Australia ........................................................................ 6 5 Hydraulic properties of aquifers........................................................................... 11 6 Case studies ........................................................................................................ 12 6.1 Recovering agricultural land................................................................................................ 12 6.2 Recovering water resources ............................................................................................... 14 6.3 Minimising the impact of saline groundwater on infrastructure ............................................ 15 6.4 Recovering wetlands and other assets with high biodiversity value..................................... 18 7 Iron biofouling and bore maintenance ................................................................. 20 8 Discussion and recommendations....................................................................... 21 8.1 Which aquifers, landforms/valleys and geologies respond best to pumping? ...................... 21 8.2 Do hydraulic head reductions at depth translate into reduced salinity in the root zone of plants?................................................................................................................................ 23 8.3 Is pumping cost-effective and how long will it take to get a return on investment? .............. 25 8.4 If installing pumping bores, what designs are most likely to be effective and incur the lowest running costs? ...................................................................................................................... 26 References .............................................................................................................. 27 iii Groundwater pumping to manage salinity: Western Australia SLUI 25 Salinity and Land Use Impacts Series Figures 1. The cone of depression or loss of hydraulic head ....................................................................... 6 2. The responses of confined and unconfined aquifers to groundwater pumping ............................ 7 3. Drawdown cones for aquifers with high and low hydraulic conductivity ...................................... 8 4. Drainage pattern in the south-west of Western Australia............................................................ 9 5. Typical WA Wheatbelt valley floor............................................................................................. 10 6. Groundwater pump test sites in south-west Western Australia................................................. 16 7. Distribution of groundwater discharge rates in 23 rural towns ................................................... 18 8. West-east hydrogeological cross-section of Toolibin Lake ....................................................... 19 9. Hydrogeological map showing a section of palaeochannel system in Northern Goldfields. ...... 22 Tables 1. Comparison of the Murray Basin and Maxon Farm .................................................................. 15 2. Sites, aquifer characteristics and drawdown data for rural towns ............................................. 17 iv Salinity and Land Use Impacts Series Groundwater pumping to manage salinity: Western Australia SLUI 25 Summary Saline shallow watertables under most of the broad valleys of the Wheatbelt are the main cause of land and stream salinisation. Shallow watertables also prevent infiltration leading to inundation and waterlogging. Groundwater pumping, in appropriate conditions, could lower the watertable, prevent the further spread of salinity and, in the long term, recover saline land and freshen streams and rivers. This report reviews the efficiency and effectiveness of groundwater pumping to delay, contain or reverse the spread of land and water salinity in Western Australia. The main conclusions and the following recommendations are based only on the case studies that are relevant to the hydrogeology, climate and topography of the WA landscape. Conclusions S Effective groundwater pumping depends mainly on aquifer characteristics. The lateral extent of the watertable lowering depends primarily on local hydrogeology and aquifer types. S Groundwater pumping from palaeochannels will only be effective in reducing surface dryland salinity if the overlying layer is pervious and not confining. S The response time of a shallow watertable to groundwater pumping depends on the degree of connectivity between the surficial sediments and palaeochannel sediments. S Lowering the hydraulic head in semi-confined aquifers and the watertable in unconfined aquifers does not necessarily result in the reclamation of agricultural land and its return to production as it may be difficult to leach the salt from the soil profile even after a sustained period with the watertable at two metres below the surface. S Groundwater pumping is often expensive compared to the local damage costs although it may be more economical than other engineering options for very valuable assets like the Wellington Reservoir water resource. S Iron fouling reduces the life of pumps and pipes and increases the costs of pumping schemes significantly. Recommendations S Select groundwater pumping sites (preferably established sites in the Wheatbelt) that represent diverse landforms and different aquifer types. S Implement monitoring programs to enhance the current projects and effectively monitor the impact of lowering the watertable on assets at risk. These sites should include agricultural land, rural towns and important public assets such as roads and water supplies, biodiversity conservation areas such as Toolibin Lake. 1 Groundwater pumping to manage salinity: Western Australia SLUI 25 Salinity and Land Use Impacts Series S Undertake a long-term pumping and monitoring project to evaluate the effectiveness of de- pressurising the deep aquifers in reducing soil salinity for various types of soils in the Wheatbelt. There are many sites with appropriate bores that could be used to address this gap in current knowledge. S Conduct a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis encompassing all the impacts of groundwater pumping on various public and private assets on catchment and small-scale systems. S In the next four years, monitor and analyse the effectiveness of the current projects (public and private projects e.g. rural towns, Maxon Farm) in terms of bore layouts. S Run numerical models at small- and catchment- scales to find the most appropriate bore design to achieve the required outcomes. 2 Salinity and Land Use Impacts Series Groundwater pumping to manage salinity: Western Australia SLUI 25 1 Introduction The salinisation of land and water is a major ecological and economic problem facing Australia. In the next 100 years about 12 million hectares of arable land, most of the water resources and wetlands in southern Australia will probably be affected to various degrees by increased salinity (Short & McConnell 2000). About seventy percent of this land and most of the wetlands and water resources occur
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