April 2016 Toro Energy Extension to the Wiluna Uranium Project Response

APRIL 2016

TORO ENERGY EXTENSION TO THE WILUNA URANIUM PROJECT RESPONSE TO EPA SUBMISSIONS TECTICORNIA GROUNDWATER DEPENDENCY

Toro Energy Pty Ltd Extension to the Wiluna Uranium Project Response to EPA Submissions Tecticornia Groundwater Dependency

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Approved for Issue Rev Author Reviewer/s Date Name Distributed To Date 1 S. Grein S. Grein/L.Chandler 1/4/2016 A. Worland Toro Energy 1/4/2016 2 S. Grein S. Grein/L.Chandler 19/04/2016 A. Worland Toro Energy 19/04/2016 3 S. Grein S. Grein/L.Chandler 21/4/2016 A. Worland Toro Energy 21/04/2016

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Toro Energy Pty Ltd Extension to the Wiluna Uranium Project Response to EPA Submissions Tecticornia Groundwater Dependency

TABLE OF CONTENTS

KEY POINTS ...... 4

1 TECTICORNIA GROUNDWATER DEPENDENCY ...... 5 1.1 TECTICORNIA ...... 5 1.2 SOIL PROFILES AND SALINITY AT MILLIPEDE, LAKE MAITLAND AND FORTESCUE MARSH ...... 7 1.3 GROUNDWATER DEPENDENCY IN VEGETATION COMMUNITIES ...... 7 1.4 TECTICORNIA DOMINATED VEGETATION COMPLEXES AND UNITS AT THE MILLIPEDE AND LAKE MAITLAND DEPOSITS ...... 10 1.5 TECTICORNIA ECOHYDROLOGICAL STUDIES ...... 12

2 CONCLUSIONS ...... 15

3 REFERENCES ...... 16

FIGURES

Figure 1 – Observations of Tecticornia indica subsp. bidens root system at the edge of the Fortescue Marsh (Equinox 2013)...... 6 Figure 2 – East Shallow Bore groundwater levels and rainfall ...... 8 Figure 3 – North Shallow Bore groundwater levels and rainfall ...... Error! Bookmark not defined. Figure 4 – Locations of North and East Shallow Groundwater Monitoring Bores ...... 9 Figure 5 – Locations of Tecticornia indica subsp. bidens from Millipede and Lake Maitland Development Envelopes ...... 11 Figure 6 – Locations of Tecticornia indica subsp. leiostachya from Millipede and Lake Maitland Development Envelopes ...... 11 Figure 7 – Locations of Tecticornia sp. Denny’s Crossing from Millipede and Lake Maitland Development Envelopes ...... 12 Figure 8 – Fortescue Marsh ecohydrological conceptualisation (BHPIO, 2016) ...... 14

Toro Energy Pty Ltd Extension to the Wiluna Uranium Project Response to EPA Submissions Tecticornia Groundwater Dependency

KEY POINTS

• Recent studies of Tecticornia dominated vegetation communities fringing the northern flank of the Fortescue Marsh are relevant to the assessment of impacts associated with the Wiluna Extension Proposal. This includes:

o Soil conditions at Christmas Creek/northern fringe of Fortescue Marsh and at Lake Way/Lake Maitland are similar.

o Groundwater conditions (including depth to water and salinity) are also similar

o Several of dominant Tecticornia species, including Tecticornia indica subsp. bidens, Tecticornia indica subsp. leiostachya and Tecticornia sp. Dennys Crossing (K.A. Shepherd & J. English KS 552) are common to all three locations (ie Fortescue Marsh, Lake Way, Lake Maitland)

• The Tecticornia species have morphological and physiological characteristics (ie low LAI, low transpiration rate, shallow root architecture) associated with plant drought tolerance and are not typical of groundwater dependent species

• Published and unpublished technical literature suggests possible linkages between Tecticornia zonation and submergence tolerance, but not between zonation and drought tolerance

• It is likely that the environmental water requirements of Tecticornia species are met by periodic surface recharge of the vadose zone

• Other environmental water requirements (related to seedling emergence, for example) are triggered by fresh water inputs from rainfall events and are not influenced by changes in groundwater regimes

• Natural variations in the depth to groundwater at Lake Way (and also likely at Lake Maitland) are in the order of more than 0.5m over the annual cycle. Even if Tecticornia species did exhibit a level of occasional groundwater reliance, plants of this genera are likely to be tolerant of natural groundwater fluctuations of at least 0.5m at Lake Way and Lake Maitland and up to 2m at Fortescue Marsh.

• Samphire communities within the 0.5m drawdown contour and outside the direct disturbance footprint will be monitored to confirm that possible changes in groundwater hydrology are not affecting vegetation health.

Toro Energy Pty Ltd Extension to the Wiluna Uranium Project Response to EPA Submissions Tecticornia Groundwater Dependency

1 TECTICORNIA GROUNDWATER DEPENDENCY

1.1 TECTICORNIA The genus Tecticornia (Amaranthaceae, subfamily Salicornioideae) is a group of stem succulent and perennial halophytes that typically inhabit marshes and margins of inland salt lakes of Australia (Marchesini et al, 2013). They are considered keystone species due to their unique adaptations, and typically dominate the plant communities in these habitats. While some Tecticornia species are widespread, others are restricted to particular habitats and landforms. The distribution of Tecticornia species across ecosystem gradients generally reflects the tolerance of the species to variability in environmental conditions. Ecophysiology studies of Tecticornia communities on the Fortescue Marsh in the Pilbara region of WA by the University of Western Australia (UWA) (Moir-Barneston et al, 2013; Marchesini et al, 2013) demonstrated that the more flood and salinity tolerant Tecticornia species (ie T. medusa) tends to occur in the interior of the Marsh while the more drought tolerant species (ie Tecticornia indica subsp. bidens) occurs on the outer margins of the Marsh fringe where soil conditions were drier and the deeper groundwater was inaccessible to the root system of the species. Tecticornia species, including Tecticornia indica subsp. bidens, are generally found in well-drained soils (Lake Carey Catchment Management Group, 2013). An unequivocal observation that has been made with respect to plant groundwater dependency is that if groundwater is found to be within the rooting depth of the vegetation it is reasonable to conclude that the vegetation is using that groundwater (Eamus, 2009). Baseline groundwater levels at the northern edge of the Marsh averaged 403m AHD with the saturated soil zone virtually never reaching a depth as shallow as 1m, more typically occurring at a depth of about 2m (FMG, 2015). Root studies of plant communities occurring on the fringes of the Fortescue Marsh conducted by UWA in 2012 (Grierson et al, in prep), that included Tecticornia indica subsp. bidens species, found that T. indica subsp. bidens has a woody root system that is predominantly confined to the top 70 cm of the soil profile (Figure 1), with the finer roots confined to the top 50 cm. Between flood events the roots of T. indica subsp. bidens are located within the unsaturated zone (FMG 2015). According to Eamus et al 2006, the inference of dependency on groundwater is based on the subsurface presence of groundwater and the groundwater or capillary fringe above the water table is likely to be within the rooting depth of any of the vegetation. On the basis of the Fortescue Marsh root study field data and photographic evidence in Figure 1, the fact that the roots of T. indica subsp. bidens do not extend into groundwater (at approximately 2m) or the capillary fringe above the watertable, indicates that the taxon has a water use strategy that targets surface water infiltration of the unsaturated soil layer (vadose zone) and is not dependent on groundwater for its survival (Equinox, 2013).

Toro Energy Pty Ltd Extension to the Wiluna Uranium Project Response to EPA Submissions Tecticornia Groundwater Dependency

Figure 1 Observations of Tecticornia indica subsp. bidens root system at the edge of the Fortescue Marsh (Equinox 2013).

Toro Energy Pty Ltd Extension to the Wiluna Uranium Project Response to EPA Submissions Tecticornia Groundwater Dependency

Plant species that have access to groundwater generally have a larger leaf area index (LAI) and maintain this leaf area index for longer into a drought than adjacent sites that do not access groundwater (Eamus, 2009). Over long time scales vegetation in water limited environments will equilibrate with climate and soils to optimally use the available soil water (Ellis & Hatton 2008). Consequently a high LAI is generally associated with high water availability and often occurs in areas with: • relatively fresh groundwater accessible to vegetation root zones; and/or • a deep soil profile with large water storage capacity, combined with surface or sub‐surface lateral inflows. Tecticornia species, being well adapted to ecosystems that are water deficient for extended periods, have a relatively small LAI’s.

1.2 SOIL PROFILES AND SALINITY AT MILLIPEDE, LAKE MAITLAND AND FORTESCUE MARSH While Tecticornia species are known to tolerate high salinity and waterlogging (in some instances) in the field there has been limited empirical research into their physiology and comparative ecology. Research has found that several Tecticornia species, including T. indica subsp. bidens, are able tolerate and survive in highly saline conditions by maintaining a positive gradient in tissue water potential through osmotic adjustment (English and Colmer, 2011, 2013). The majority of the soils within the direct and indirect impact areas associated with the Millipede deposit and the Lake Way salt lake and fringing saline alluvial plains are loamy sands, clayey sands, sandy loams and clay loams. The soils associated with the bed of Lake Way are of high salinity levels while the measured water salinity levels (electrical conductivity) of groundwater at Lake Way varied between 26,000 and 150,000 µS/cm (Outback Ecology, 2007). At Lake Maitland soils ranged from loamy sand to light medium clay and generally finer textured soils were present within the lake playa, with soil salinity (electrical conductivity) on the edge of the lake extremely high (4-9.9 dS/m) (Outback Ecology, 2007). Similarly, the soils on the northern fringes of Fortescue Marsh are typified by a surficial fine loam horizon in the initial 30-40 cm, underlain by a clay loam to light clay B horizon which is underlain by a zone of permeable, nodular calcrete at depths of 1 to 2.5m (Equinox, 2013). Subsoils at Fortescue Marsh were similarly also highly saline, with soil TDS ranging from 10,000 to more than 100,000 (mg/L) (MWH, 2015) and groundwater salinity levels greater than 80,000 µS/cm (FMG, 2015).

1.3 GROUNDWATER DEPENDENCY IN VEGETATION COMMUNITIES Groundwater dependent vegetation (GDV) is defined “as vegetation that depends on groundwater fully or on a seasonal or episodic basis to prevent water stress and to avoid adverse impacts to their condition and doesn’t rely on the surface expression of water for survival” (Eamus et al., 2006). GDV depends on the subsurface presence of groundwater, often accessed via the capillary fringe or vadose zone (Eamus et al., 2006). This vegetation can exist wherever the watertable is within the root zone of the plants, either permanently or episodically. Similarly groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs) are defined as ecosystems that require access to groundwater to meet all or some of their water requirements so as to maintain the communities of plants and animals, ecological processes they support, and ecosystem services they provide (Clifton et al. 2007 and Tomlinson 2011). Groundwater dependent vegetation is relatively uncommon in the arid regions of Western Australia region, and is generally associated with permanent or persistent waterbodies. Groundwater dependent species may have deep root systems, or root adaptations for persisting in waterlogged

Toro Energy Pty Ltd Extension to the Wiluna Uranium Project Response to EPA Submissions Tecticornia Groundwater Dependency conditions. Recognised indicator species of GDV includes Melaleuca argentea and Eucalyptus camaldulensis. Surface water dependent vegetation relies on lateral water inputs in addition to rainfall to meet water use requirements. Species from the Mulga complex (Acacia aneura and allied taxa) are regarded as being sheetflow dependent, particular when growing in banded or groved formations. Most Australian inland lakes remain dry throughout the year and are only filled after exceptional rainfall events (Skrzypek et al. 2013). The margins of these lakes are often inhabited by plant communities dominated by Tecticornia species. On the basis of the research described in Section 1.1 and the similarities in soil profiles between the Fortescue Marsh, and the Lake Way and Lake Maitland playa lakes, given the relatively shallow root depth of the dominant component of Tecticornia communities fringing Lake Way, Tecticornia indica subsp. bidens, this species and other Tecticornia species are unlikely to be dependent on groundwater for their survival. However, even if Tecticornia was to be classified as a groundwater dependent genera, given the seasonal fluctuations in groundwater levels at shallow monitoring bores within the Millipede development area in the vicinity of the Tecticornia communities (North and East Shallow bores) of between 0.4-0.8 metres (Figures 2 to 4), which correlate with the range of the proposed 0.5m groundwater drawdown associated with the Project, it would be reasonable to conclude that the Tecticornia species that occur within the groundwater drawdown indirect impact contour are likely to be well adapted to seasonal fluctuations in groundwater levels and are therefore less likely to be susceptible to a groundwater drawdown. Average annual groundwater level fluctuations at the Fortescue Marsh are up to 2m (FMG, 2015).

Figure 2 East Shallow Bore groundwater levels and rainfall

Toro Energy Pty Ltd Extension to the Wiluna Uranium Project Response to EPA Submissions Tecticornia Groundwater Dependency

Figure 3 North Shallow Bore groundwater levels and rainfall

Figure 4 Locations of North and East Shallow Groundwater Monitoring Bores

Toro Energy Pty Ltd Extension to the Wiluna Uranium Project Response to EPA Submissions Tecticornia Groundwater Dependency

1.4 TECTICORNIA DOMINATED VEGETATION COMPLEXES AND UNITS AT THE MILLIPEDE AND LAKE MAITLAND DEPOSITS The Millipede development envelope and groundwater drawdown impact areas on the southwestern portion of Lake Way are associated with five vegetation zones/complexes and 10 vegetation units, of which two units are Tecticornia sp. dominated (ecologia, 2015a; Niche, 2011): • Low Heath D of Tecticornia species (CP1)/Tecticornia Complex T6 - Frankenia fecunda (glabrous leaf variant) and Tecticornia disarticulata (+/‐ Tecticornia indica subsp. bidens) low sparse shrubland, over Aristida holathera and Eragrostis falcata sparse tussock grassland • Low Heath of Tecticornia Species (Sl)/Tecticornia Complex T3 - Tecticornia sp. Dennys Crossing (K.A. Shepherd & J. English KS 552) (+/‐T. indica, T. sp. aff. undulata (broad articles), T. sp. aff globulifera (small) and Tecticornia sp. Sunshine Lake (K.A. Shepherd et al. KS 867)) sparse low shrubland. A further three Tecticornia sp. dominated samphire vegetation units, which includes Tecticornia indica subsp. biden, T. indica subsp. leiostachya and Tecticornia sp. Dennys Crossing were delineated using statistical analysis of data collected from 3m x 3m quadrats from the Lake Maitland project area (ecologia 2015b): • Unit T-F: Tecticornia sp. Dennys Crossing (K.A. Shepherd & J. English KS 552) (+/‐T. indica subsp. leiostachya & T. sp. aff. undulata (broad articles)), over Eragrostis falcata isolated tussock grasses • T-HA: Tecticornia sp. Dennys Crossing (K.A. Shepherd & J. English KS 552) (+/‐T. sp. aff. Undulata (broad articles, T. sp. aff globulifera (small) and T. indica subsp. leiostachya) and Sclerolaena clelandii • T-GB: Tecticornia sp. aff globulifera (small), Lawrencia helmsii and Scaevola collaris (+/‐T. sp. Burnerbinmah (D. Edinger et al. 101), T. sp. aff laevigata (non‐rotated fruitlets) and T. indica subsp. leiostachya) sparse low shrubland Within both the Millepede and Lake Maitland development envelopes, major floristic components of all five of these Tecticornia units included Tecticornia indica subsp. bidens, T. indica subsp. leiostachya and/or Tecticornia sp. Dennys Crossing (Figures 5-7).

Toro Energy Pty Ltd Extension to the Wiluna Uranium Project Response to EPA Submissions Tecticornia Groundwater Dependency

Figure 5 Locations of Tecticornia indica subsp. bidens from Millipede and Lake Maitland Development Envelopes

Figure 6 Locations of Tecticornia indica subsp. leiostachya from Millipede and Lake Maitland Development Envelopes

Toro Energy Pty Ltd Extension to the Wiluna Uranium Project Response to EPA Submissions Tecticornia Groundwater Dependency

Figure 7 Locations of Tecticornia sp. Denny’s Crossing from Millipede and Lake Maitland Development Envelopes

1.5 TECTICORNIA ECOHYDROLOGICAL STUDIES Two major ecohydrological assessment of the Fortescue Marsh have recently been conducted to provide technical support to environmental approvals for BHPIO’s Pilbara Public Environmental Review Strategic Proposal (BHPIO 2016, MWH, 2016) and Fortescue Metals Group’s (FMG’s) Christmas Creek Iron Ore Expansion Public Environmental Review (Equinox, 2013, FMG, 2014). The Fortescue Marsh is a brackish to saline, endorheic wetland within the drainage terminus of the Upper Fortescue River. It is a unique regional-scale landscape feature, extending for about 100 km along the Fortescue Valley with a width of between 3 and 10 km. The boundary of the Marsh is broadly defined by the Marsh Land System (van Vreeswyk et al., 2004). Bed levels in the Marsh lie between 400 m and 405 m AHD with fringing samphire vegetation typically extending to about 407 to 408 m AHD. The Marsh is episodically inundated following large rainfall, surface water runoff and streamflow events. Analysis of flood levels and high resolution topographical data indicates that the Marsh waterbody segregates into eastern and western basins. Floodwaters may persist for several months providing breeding and foraging habitat for waterbirds and other biota. Surface waterbodies in the Marsh rapidly evaporate leading to salt accumulation. Beneath the Marsh, the groundwater is hypersaline (greater than 80,000 µS/cm) (FMG, 2015). The fringing samphire vegetation communities of the Fortescue Marsh are dominated by the same Tecticornia species that comprise the samphire communities within the Millipede and Lake Maitland development envelopes (including Tecticornia indica subsp. bidens, Tecticornia indica subsp. leiostachya and Tecticornia sp. Dennys Crossing (K.A. Shepherd & J. English KS 552). These communities exhibit conservative water use behaviour and are most likely reliant on pulses of surface fresh water associated with floods and stored soil moisture rather than groundwater (Figure 8) (BHPIO, 2016). The flooding regime is likely to be the major factor influencing samphire

Toro Energy Pty Ltd Extension to the Wiluna Uranium Project Response to EPA Submissions Tecticornia Groundwater Dependency recruitment and mortality and the samphire vegetation has adapted to waterlogging, flooding and salinity stressors (BHIPIO, 2016). The water management regime for the FMG’s current Christmas Creek mining operations, which were conservative parameters developed by the Department of Water and FMG in response to a perception of the potential impacts to Samphire communities as a result of groundwater drawdown at the Christmas Creek mine, requires a management response when groundwater drawdown exceeds 0.65m and a statutory response when drawdown exceeds 1m. In association with dewatering required to access the Marra Mamba orebody, 70% of which is below the watertable, the Christmas Creek Iron Ore Expansion Project proposes a groundwater drawdown of up to 3m in the shallow aquifer adjacent to the northern fringe of Fortescue Marsh. FMG undertook an evaluation of the potential impacts of this drawdown on the fringing samphire community (dominated by Tecticornia indica subsp. bidens) that occur within the 3m drawdown contour (Equinox, 2013). This included a peer reviewed, 2-dimensional variably saturated model (HYDRUS) that was used to simulate soil water dynamics and plant water uptake by Tecticornia species (FMG, 2014). Along with empirical observations, including studies that demonstrated the ability of Tecticornia indica subsp. bidens to tolerate drought and other stressors (Marchesini et al, 2013), the modelling provided a strong indication that the EWR’s of fringing Tecticornia indica subsp. bidens dominated samphire communities are entirely or predominantly met by surface water inputs (ie. rainfall and flood waters) which are likely to maintain soil moisture levels sufficient to meet EWR’s. Other potential impacts of groundwater drawdown such as changes in water quality were also predicted not to be significant. These results provide confidence that even under prolonged periods of drought, a proposed 3m drawdown is unlikely to have a significant impact on the health and survival of Tecticornia indica subsp. bidens (Equinox, 2013). In its assessment of the Christmas Creek Iron Ore Expansion Project, the EPA have indicated an acceptance of the position that the samphire communities on the fringes of Fortescue Marsh are likely to be tolerant of a groundwater drawdown of up to 3m (Josh Levett, FMG, pers. comm, 2016).

Figure 8 Fortescue Marsh ecohydrological conceptualisation (BHPIO, 2016 Toro Energy Pty Ltd Extension to the Wiluna Uranium Project Response to EPA Submissions Tecticornia Groundwater Dependency

2 CONCLUSIONS The dominant Tecticornia species of the samphire communities that occur on the fringes of the Fortescue Marsh also occur within both of the Millipede and Lake Maitland Development areas (ie Tecticornia indica subsp. bidens, Tecticornia indica subsp. leiostachya and Tecticornia sp. Dennys Crossing (K.A. Shepherd & J. English KS 552). Additionally, the associated soil types and salinity levels of the three sites also closely correspond. Empirical data and results of ecohydrological studies on these species undertaken at Fortescue Marsh concluded that a 3m groundwater drawdown at Fortescue Marsh is unlikely to affect the survival of Tecticornia species. Based on the results of HYDRUS modelling at Fortescue Marsh, a conclusion could be drawn that the Environmental Water Requirements (EWR’s) of Tecticornia species within the Millipede and Lake Maitland development areas (including those within the 0.5m groundwater drawdown contour) are likely to be met by surface water inputs which maintain the soil moisture sufficient to meet water use requirements under all but extreme climatic conditions. On this basis and the EPA’s indicating its acceptance that samphire communities on the fringes of Fortescue Marsh can tolerate a groundwater drawdown of up to 3m, it can be argued that the Tecticornia species present within the Millipede and Lake Maitland development areas are unlikely to be groundwater dependent and as a consequence any proposed groundwater drawdown is unlikely to significantly affect their health and survival.

Toro Energy Pty Ltd Extension to the Wiluna Uranium Project Response to EPA Submissions Tecticornia Groundwater Dependency

3 REFERENCES

BHPIO (2016). SEA Hydrology: Ecohydrological Change Assessment. Appendix 7, BHPIO Pilbara Public Environmental Review Strategic Proposal.

Clifton C, Cossens B and McAuley C 2007, A Framework for assessing the environmental water requirements of groundwater dependent ecosystems, report prepared for Land and Water Australia.

Eamus, D., Froend, R., Loomes R., Hose G. and Murray B. (2006). A functional methodology for determining the groundwater regime needed to maintain health of groundwater-dependent vegetation, Australian Journal of Botany 54(2): pp 97–114.

Eamus, D. (2009). Identifying groundwater dependent ecosystems: A guide for land and water Managers, Land & Water Australia. ecologia, (2015a). Extension to the Wiluna Project: Flora and Vegetation Consolidation and Conservation Assessment. Unpublished Report to Toro Energy Limited ecologia (2015b). Assessment of Tecticornia Communities associated with Lake Way and Lake Maitland. Unpublished Memo Report to Toro Energy.

Ellis, T.W. & Hatton, T.J. (2008) Relating leaf area index of natural eucalypt vegetation to climate variables in southern Australia. Agricultural Water Management, 95, 743–747.

English JP, Colmer TD. 2011. Salinity and waterlogging tolerances in three stem-succulent halophytes (Tecticornia species) from the margins of ephemeral salt lakes. Plant and Soil 348, 379–396.

English, J. P. and T. D. Colmer. 2013. Tolerance of extreme salinity in two stem-succulent halophytes (Tecticornia species). Functional Plant Biology 40:897-912.

Equinox, 2013. Fortescue Marsh: Synthesis of ecohydrological knowledge. Unpublished report to Fortescue Metals Group. October 2013.

FMG, 2014. Modelling Analysis of the Impact of Mine Dewatering on Soil Water Availability to the Samphire Vegetation on the Fringe of Fortescue Marsh. Unpublished Report, April 2014

FMG (2015). Christmas Creek Iron Ore Mine Expansion. Public Environmental Review

Toro Energy Pty Ltd Extension to the Wiluna Uranium Project Response to EPA Submissions Tecticornia Groundwater Dependency

Marchesini, V., Chuanhua, Y., Colmer, T. and Veneklaas, E. (2014). Drought Tolerance of Three Stem- succulent Halophyte Species of an Inland Semi-arid Salt Lake System. Functional Plant Biology 41 (12) pp 1230-1238.

MWH (2015). Ecohydrological Conceptualisation of the Fortescue Marsh Region. Map Book. Unpublished Report prepared for BHP Billiton Iron ore, September 2015

Moir-Barnetson, L., Veneklaas, E.J., Konnerup, D. and Colmer, T.D. (2013). Submergence tolerance in stem-succulent halophytes is associated with resistance to the osmotic swelling and rupturing of shoot tissues. Unpublished paper. Niche Environmental Services. 2011. Assessment of the Flora and Vegetation at the Toro Energy Wiluna Uranium Project: Lake Way, Centripede and West Creek Borefield, unpublished report by Niche Environmental Services for Toro Energy Ltd. Outback Ecology, (2007). Lake Maitland Baseline Soil Survey. Unpublished Report to Mega Redport Pty Ltd, September 2007.

Richardson S., Irvine, E., Froend, R., Boon, P. Barber, S. and Bonneville, B. (2011) Australian Groundwater-dependent ecosystem Toolbox Part 1: Assessment Framework, Waterlines Report, National Water Commission, Canberra.

Skrzypek, G., S. Dogramaci, and P. F. Grierson. (2013). Geochemical and hydrological processes controlling groundwater salinity of a large inland wetland of northwest Australia. Chemical Geology 357:164-177.

Tomlinson, M. 2011, Ecological Water Requirements of Groundwater Systems: a knowledge and policy review, Waterlines Occasional Paper, National Water Commission. van Vreeswyk, A., Payne, A., Leighton, K., and Hennig, P. (2004). An inventory and condition survey of the Pilbara Region, Western Australia, Technical Bulletin No. 92, Department of Agriculture, Perth.