Chowilla Floodplain Soil and Groundwater Monitoring: Post 2016 Inundation
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Chowilla floodplain soil and groundwater monitoring: post 2016 inundation DEWNR Technical report 2017/21 Chowilla floodplain soil and groundwater monitoring: post 2016 inundation Saeed Ghaderi and Cameron Wood Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources June 2017 DEWNR Technical report 2017/21 Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources GPO Box 1047, Adelaide SA 5001 Telephone National (08) 8463 6946 International +61 8 8463 6946 Fax National (08) 8463 6999 International +61 8 8463 6999 Website www.environment.sa.gov.au Disclaimer The Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources and its employees do not warrant or make any representation regarding the use, or results of the use, of the information contained herein as regards to its correctness, accuracy, reliability, currency or otherwise. The Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources and its employees expressly disclaims all liability or responsibility to any person using the information or advice. Information contained in this document is correct at the time of writing. The contents of this publication do not purport to represent the position of the Commonwealth of Australia or the MDBA in any way and, as appropriate, are presented for the purpose of informing and stimulating discussion for improved management of the Basin's natural resources. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ © Crown in right of the State of South Australia, through the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources 2017 ISBN 978-1-925668-38-4 Preferred way to cite this publication Ghaderi S and Wood C (2017). Chowilla floodplain soil and groundwater monitoring: post 2016 inundation, DEWNR Technical report 2017/21, Government of South Australia, Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, Adelaide. Download this document at: http://www.waterconnect.sa.gov.au DEWNR Technical report 2017/21 i Foreword The Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources (DEWNR) is responsible for the management of the State’s natural resources, ranging from policy leadership to on-ground delivery in consultation with government, industry and communities. High-quality science and effective monitoring provides the foundation for the successful management of our environment and natural resources. This is achieved through undertaking appropriate research, investigations, assessments, monitoring and evaluation. DEWNR’s strong partnerships with educational and research institutions, industries, government agencies, Natural Resources Management Boards and the community ensures that there is continual capacity building across the sector, and that the best skills and expertise are used to inform decision making. Sandy Pitcher CHIEF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, WATER AND NATURAL RESOURCES DEWNR Technical report 2017/21 ii Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Craig Liddicoat (DEWNR) peer reviewing this report, and Graham Green (DEWNR) and Darren Alcoe (DEWNR) for providing Principal Scientist support to the project. Todd Wallace (The University of Adelaide) is thanked for providing a review of the report, and Jan Whittle (DEWNR) is thanked for additional comments. Colin Cichon (DEWNR) is thanked for copy editing. This project was funded by The Living Murray initiative of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority. The Living Murray is a joint initiative funded by the New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Australian Capital Territory and Australian governments, coordinated by the Murray–Darling Basin Authority. Brian Hughes and Rebecca Tonkin from Rural Solutions SA conducted the soil sampling described in this report. Brian is thanked for ongoing discussions related to floodplain soil interpretation. DEWNR Technical report 2017/21 iii Contents Foreword ii Acknowledgements iii Executive summary 1 1 Introduction 3 1.1 Background 3 1.1.1 Physiography of the Chowilla floodplain and operation of the Chowilla regulator 3 1.1.2 Monitoring soil and groundwater on the Chowilla floodplain 3 1.2 Operation of the Chowilla regulator: August–November 2016 5 1.3 Aims and objectives 5 2 Methods 6 2.1 Mapping the extent of Chowilla floodplain indundation 6 2.2 Soil sampling and laboratory analyses 6 2.3 Groundwater level monitoring 7 2.4 Accounting for gypsum dissolution 10 3 Results and discussion 11 3.1 Soil and hydrological responses to Chowilla floodplain innundation in November-December 2016 11 3.1.1 Soil responses 11 3.1.2 Hydrological responses 11 3.2 Comparison of hydrological responses: 2015 versus 2016 operation of the Chowilla regulator 13 3.3 Accounting for gypsum dissolution 15 3.4 Changes in soil condition against potential ecological targets 16 3.5 Comparison with flooding at Pike and Katarapko floodplains 17 4 Conclusions and recommendations 18 4.1 Conclusions 18 4.2 Recommendations 18 5 Appendices 20 A. Results from 2016 monitoring 20 B. Changes in soil pH during 2016 event 86 C. Soil site locations 92 D. Corrected and uncorrected EC1:5 measurements 93 E. Chowilla observation well network 96 F. Groundwater rises 97 6 Units of measurement 99 6.1 Units of measurement commonly used (SI and non-SI Australian legal) 99 6.2 Soil texture abbreviations 100 7 Glossary 101 8 References 105 DEWNR Technical report 2017/21 iv List of figures Figure 1.1. The Chowilla floodplain, bounded by the 1956 flood extent. .................................................................................................................. 4 Figure 1.2. Surface water levels in site A4261091 (Monoman Creek) .......................................................................................................................... 5 Figure 2.1. Extent of Chowilla floodplain inundation at September 2016 and December 2016 (provided by River Murray Operations, DEWNR), and associated groundwater monitoring sites ......................................................................................................................... 8 Figure 2.2 Location of 2016 soil sampling sites..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 Figure 3.1. Groundwater rises in response to Aug-Nov 2016 flood event across the Chowilla floodplain .............................................. 12 Figure 3.2. Groundwater levels in Chowilla floodplain (grey dashed lined mark the beginning and peak of Chowilla regulator operation) ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 13 Figure 3.3. Correlation of soil water EC from 1:5 dilution analysis and soil water chloride from 1:5 analysis ......................................... 15 Figure 3.4. Sulfur to chloride ratios in soil water samples (orange dots), many of which exceed the rainfall ratio (blue line) suggesting ‘excess’ sulfate is present ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 15 Figure 3.5. Corrected EC measurements (accounting for excess Ca and S from gypsum dissolution) against chloride..................... 16 Figure A.5.1. Aerial image of Site 7029-1479 ...................................................................................................................................................................... 22 Figure A.5.2. Gravimetric moisture content for 7029-1479 ........................................................................................................................................... 23 Figure A.5.3. Soil water potential for 7029-1479 .............................................................................................................................................................. 23 Figure A.5.4. Soil chloride for 7029-1479 .............................................................................................................................................................................. 23 Figure A.5.5. Soil EC1:5 for 7029-1479 ................................................................................................................................................................................... 23 Figure A.5.6. Soil structural stability profile for 7029-1479 ........................................................................................................................................... 24 Figure A.5.7. Soil turbidity profile for 7029-1479 ............................................................................................................................................................. 24 Figure A.5.8. Groundwater level (m – below ground) in Well 7029-1479 (grey dashed lined mark the beginning and ending of Chowilla regulator operation, red dots are manual groundwater level measurements) .................................................................................. 24 Figure A.5.9. Aerial image of Site 7029-1480 ...................................................................................................................................................................... 25 Figure A.5.10. Gravimetric moisture content for 7029-1480........................................................................................................................................