Sustainable Expansion of Irrigated Agriculture and Horticulture In
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Sustainable expansion of irrigated agriculture and horticulture in Northern Adelaide Corridor: Task 3 - source water options; water availability, quality and storage considerations. John Awad, Joanne Vanderzalm, David Pezzaniti, Onyi-Obazi Esu, John van Leeuwen Goyder Institute for Water Research Technical Report Series No. 19/16 www.goyderinstitute.org Goyder Institute for Water Research Technical Report Series ISSN: 1839-2725 The Goyder Institute for Water Research is a partnership between the South Australian Government through the Department for Environment and Water, CSIRO, Flinders University, the University of Adelaide, the University of South Australia and the International Centre of Excellence in Water Resource Management. The Institute enhances the South Australian Government’s capacity to develop and deliver science-based policy solutions in water management. It brings together the best scientists and researchers across Australia to provide expert and independent scientific advice to inform good government water policy and identify future threats and opportunities to water security. The following Associate organisations contributed to this report: Enquires should be addressed to: Goyder Institute for Water Research Level 4, 33 King William Street Adelaide, SA 5000 tel: 08 8236 5200 e-mail: [email protected] Citation Awad, J., Vanderzalm, J., Pezzaniti, D., Esu, O.-O., van Leeuwen, J. (2019) Sustainable Expansion of Irrigated Agriculture and Horticulture in Northern Adelaide Corridor: Task 3 - source water options; water availability, quality and storage considerations. Goyder Institute for Water Research Technical Report Series No. 19/16. © Crown in right of the State of South Australia, Department for Environment and Water. Disclaimer The UniSA and CSIRO, as the project partners, advise that the information contained in this publication comprises general statements based on scientific research and does not warrant or represent the completeness of any information or material in this publication. The project partners do not warrant or make any representation regarding the use, or results of the use, of the information contained herein about to its correctness, accuracy, reliability, currency or otherwise and expressly disclaim all liability or responsibility to any person using the information or advice. Information contained in this document is, to the knowledge of the project partners, correct at the time of writing. Contents Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................................... ix Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................................................ xii 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1. General introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 1.2. Project background and original tasks ......................................................................................... 1 1.3. Aim and objectives ....................................................................................................................... 3 2. Methodology and approach ..................................................................................................................... 4 2.1. Study area .................................................................................................................................... 5 2.2. Precipitation and evapotranspiration data.................................................................................. 5 2.2.1. Historical data ........................................................................................................................ 5 2.2.2. Climate change model ........................................................................................................... 6 2.3. Horticulture practice survey ........................................................................................................ 7 2.4. Crops and water supplies............................................................................................................. 7 2.5. Water resources and quality analyses ......................................................................................... 8 2.6. Reclaimed waters......................................................................................................................... 8 2.7. Surface waters ............................................................................................................................. 9 2.8. Stormwater ................................................................................................................................ 10 2.8.1. Urban stormwater ............................................................................................................... 10 2.8.2. Rooftop stormwater runoff ................................................................................................. 10 2.9. Groundwater and managed aquifer recharge (MAR) suitability ............................................... 11 3. Reclaimed water ..................................................................................................................................... 12 3.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 12 3.2. Qualities of source waters (seasonal variations) ....................................................................... 13 3.3. Climate and water quality .......................................................................................................... 17 3.4. Water quality at the point of farm use (farm storage dams) .................................................... 18 3.5. Storage (surface and subsurface) and water qualities .............................................................. 19 3.5.1. Surface storage .................................................................................................................... 19 3.5.2. Subsurface storage (ASR) ..................................................................................................... 20 4. Surface water and stormwater ............................................................................................................... 21 4.1. Surface waters ........................................................................................................................... 21 4.1.1. Gawler River ........................................................................................................................ 21 4.1.2. Gawler Water Reuse Scheme (GWRS) ................................................................................. 22 4.1.3. Light River ............................................................................................................................ 23 4.2. Urban stormwater ..................................................................................................................... 24 4.3. Rooftop stormwater runoff ....................................................................................................... 25 4.4. Mains water ............................................................................................................................... 26 5. Groundwater........................................................................................................................................... 27 5.1. Overview of hydrogeology ......................................................................................................... 27 5.1.1 Quaternary aquifers ............................................................................................................ 27 5.1.2 Tertiary aquifers .................................................................................................................. 27 5.1.3. Fractured rock aquifers ....................................................................................................... 28 Sustainable expansion of irrigated agriculture and horticulture in Northern Adelaide Corridor: Task 3 – source water options | i 5.2. Groundwater use and water supply opportunities ................................................................... 28 5.3. Managed aquifer recharge: aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) .............................................. 29 5.4. Assessing the suitability of Tertiary aquifers for ASR ................................................................ 30 5.4.1. Within the NAP PWA ............................................................................................................ 31 5.4.2. North of the NAP PWA ........................................................................................................ 31 6. Survey of horticulturalists ....................................................................................................................... 33 6.1. Management practices .............................................................................................................. 33 6.2. Irrigation practices ..................................................................................................................... 33 7. Irrigation water quality and quantity for covered crop: ‘IW-QC2’ software