Groundwater Information for Management in the Upper Canning
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GROUNDWATER INFORMATION FOR MANAGEMENT OF THE UPPER CANNING SOUTHERN WUNGONG CATCHMENT Salinity and Land Use Impacts Series Upper Canning Southern Wungong Catchment SLUI 14 GROUNDWATER INFORMATION FOR MANAGEMENT OF THE UPPER CANNING SOUTHERN WUNGONG CATCHMENT by R. A. Smith, R. Shams and A. M. Waterhouse Resource Science Division Water and Rivers Commission WATER AND RIVERS COMMISSION SALINITY AND LAND USE IMPACTS SERIES REPORT NO. SLUI 14 OCTOBER 2002 i Upper Canning Southern Wungong Catchment SLUI 14 Salinity and Land Use Impacts Series Acknowledgments The authors acknowledge help and advice from; The Advisory Committee (below) to the Swan Hydrogeological Resource Base and Catchment Interpretation Project Department Representative Agriculture Western Australia Gerry Parlevliet Conservation and Land Management Rob Towers Community Peter Murray (Chair) CSIRO Dr John Adeney Edith Cowan University Dr Ray Froend Environmental Protection Authority Wes Horwood, Jane Taylor Local Government Authority Mick McCarthy, Veronica Oma Ministry for Planning David Nunn, Marie Ward, Alan Carman-Brown Swan Catchment Centre Peter Nash Swan River Trust Dr Tom Rose, Declan Morgan, Adrian Tomlinson Mr Ken Angel (Agriculture Western Australia), Mr Robert Panasiewicz (formerly Water and Rivers Commission), and Mr Syl Kubicki (formerly Water and Rivers Commission). Recommended Reference SMITH, R. A., SHAMS, R., and WATERHOUSE, A. M., 2002, Groundwater information for management in the Upper Canning Southern Wungong catchment: Western Australia, Water and Rivers Commission, Salinity and Land Use Impacts Report Series No. SLUI 14, 50p. 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 1-920687-82-3 ISSN 1447-7394 October 2002 Cover photograph: Wungong Brook by Rezina Shams ii Salinity and Land Use Impacts Series Upper Canning Southern Wungong Catchment SLUI 14 Foreword The Swan Hydrogeological Resource Base and Catchment Interpretation project was a Natural Heritage Trust (NHT) and Water and Rivers Commission (WRC) funded project (NHT 973705). The study areas were three priority catchments of the Swan-Canning rivers—the Ellen Brook, Brockman River and the combined Upper Canning Southern Wungong catchments. The following were the main objectives of the study: S To liaise with the Swan Working Group and catchment groups to determine issues, needs and appropriate products. S To provide baseline groundwater information essential for the catchment groups to implement management plans. S To compile maps of hydrogeological information at a scale appropriate to the decision-making processes of catchment managers. S To transfer expertise into the priority sub-catchments by training, publications and advice in interpretation. This report comprises a brief overview of the areas and management guidelines from the perspective of the groundwater issues. More detailed information can be found in the following project reports, posters and CD-ROM. Reports Groundwater information and management options for the Brockman River Catchment SLUI 2 Hydrogeological information for management planning in the Ellen Brook catchment SLUI 11 Groundwater information for management of the Ellen Brook, Brockman River and Upper Canning Southern Wungong catchments SLUI 12 Posters Managing Nutrient Movement into Ellen Brook Geology of Ellen Brook Hydrogeology of Ellen Brook Salt affected land? Yes! It’s a groundwater problem! Brockman River Catchment CD-ROM* Groundwater information and Management Zones for the Ellen Brook, Brockman River and combined Upper Canning and Southern Rivers and Wungong Brook catchments. *The data package on the CD-ROM contains the following themes in GIS format: surface water catchments and their subcatchments; hydrogeological zones; water monitoring sites for groundwater and surface water; management boundaries; regional soil surveys; topographic contours; roads; Local Government boundaries; and general climatic data. iii Upper Canning Southern Wungong Catchment SLUI 14 Salinity and Land Use Impacts Series Contents Summary ................................................................................................................... 1 1 Introduction to the catchment of the Upper Canning and Southern rivers and Wungong Brook..................................................................................................... 3 2 Issues for catchment management ....................................................................... 5 3 Catchment description......................................................................................... 11 3.1 Geomorphology, rainfall and drainage ................................................................................ 11 3.2 Significant areas, especially wetlands................................................................................. 11 3.3 Vegetation, clearing history and land use............................................................................ 13 4 Why geology and groundwater are important in catchment management .......... 17 4.1 Darling Plateau geology and groundwater .......................................................................... 17 4.2 Darling Scarp geology and groundwater ............................................................................. 18 4.3 Swan Coastal Plain geology and groundwater .................................................................... 21 5 Investigations of land use impacts on water quality ............................................ 25 5.1 Land use impact investigations and groundwater quality on the Swan Coastal Plain .......... 25 5.2 Land use and quality of surface runoff ................................................................................ 28 6 Management plans .............................................................................................. 32 6.1 Integrated catchment management..................................................................................... 32 6.2 Water quality improvement plans........................................................................................ 32 6.3 Land use plans ................................................................................................................... 33 6.4 Community education program ........................................................................................... 34 6.5 Groundwater resource management plan ........................................................................... 34 6.6 Surface water management ................................................................................................ 35 6.7 Water resource protection plans ......................................................................................... 35 7 Key messages ..................................................................................................... 37 8 Recommendations............................................................................................... 38 9 Management guidelines for the Upper Canning Southern Wungong Catchment 39 9.1 Control of erosion by water ................................................................................................. 39 9.2 Control of inundation and waterlogging ............................................................................... 39 9.3 Reduction of nutrient export from the catchment................................................................. 40 9.4 Countering dryland salinisation ........................................................................................... 42 9.5 Limiting point-source contamination of groundwater ........................................................... 42 References .............................................................................................................. 46 iv Salinity and Land Use Impacts Series Upper Canning Southern Wungong Catchment SLUI 14 Figures 1. Upper Canning Southern Wungong Catchment location ………………................................... 2 2. Physiography.......................................................................................................................... 4 3. Land degradation on and near the Darling Plateau (from Lloyd, 1997 & 1998). ...................... 6 4. Drainage systems ................................................................................................................. 10 5. Vegetation cover, 1996 (from Land Monitor) ......................................................................... 12 6. Simplified geology................................................................................................................. 14 7. Slope of land derived from Digital Elevation Model ............................................................... 16 8. Geological section of the foothills.......................................................................................... 19 9. Geological section across the catchment .............................................................................. 22 10. Groundwater quality in the superficial aquifer (Feb 2000, Snapshot) .................................. 26 11. Good management practices ............................................................................................... 40 Tables Table 1. Description of the subcatchments .................................................................................. 7 Table 2. Stratigraphic sequence on the Swan Coastal Plain .....................................................