Salinity - Monitoring - Northern Territory
Northern Territory
Monitoring now and in the future
No formal monitoring for dryland salinity is warranted based on the current low level of risk of its incidence in the Northern Territory. Efforts are most likely to focus on monitoring and evaluation of any proposed land use change, particularly in areas of moderate hazard. Consideration should be given to the degree of change to the water balance and any potential off-site impacts on water quality.
What is being monitored
Northern Territory
Responsibility
The Department of Lands, Planning and Environment have primary responsibility for salinity in the Northern Territory. Salinity hazard mapping was undertaken by the Power and Water Authority in 1994.
Mapping of land salinisation
No systematic mapping of the current extent of dryland salinity has been undertaken and no monitoring systems have been implemented specifically to monitor salinity because it is not considered to be a serious problem in the Northern Territory.
Groundwater monitoring
There are approximately 22 000 registered water bores in the Northern Territory, many of which have one or more measurement of groundwater salinity. Groundwater monitoring of approximately 50 sites has shown no overall rising trends (NLWRA, 2001).
Surface water monitoring
Surface water monitoring data is held at the Department of Lands Planning and Environment in a HYDSYS database as dbase files. Data exists from as far back as the late 1950's and early 1960's.
The data collected is primarily stream heights and rainfall. Only a small amount of routine water quality data exists and it tends to be temporally and spatially sporadic. There are currently approximately 130 gauging stations and 50 rainfall sites measured by the Department of Lands Planning and Environment.
Modeling of current impacts
Not applicable
Future Extent
Salinity hazard has been assessed by combining information on various physical parameters that contribute toward the likelihood of dryland salinity (Tickell, 1997). No areas were classified as high hazard.
What type of monitoring is needed for Australia?
If we are to make informed decisions about how to prioritise our investment in salinity, and how to assess the effectiveness of investments, we need to be equipped with sufficient, good quality data that enable us to answer some fundamental questions at the catchment scale.
- How effective have management activities been?
- What is the likely future extent/severity/impact of salinity?
- What is the contribution to improving groundwater level of any salinity management investment?
- What investments are likely to deliver the most effective changes to water balance and over what time frame?
- How are systems-such as in-stream water quality, wetlands and soils-responding to improvements in groundwater level?
- What are the minimum components for an effective Australia-wide dryland salinity assessment and monitoring program?
We need:
- an analytical framework based on our understanding of hydrogeological processes controlling salinity, including timescales and spatial extents;
- evaluation methods and appropriate data (including indirect and surrogate indicators) that allow continuing evaluation of land management responses; the methods must enable the linking of biophysical, social and economic dimensions;
- consistent design and standards for data collection; and
- a capability to collect and manage data, and to produce information and assessments from this data.
Link to national overview of: What type of monitoring is needed for Australia?
Further information
- Dryland Salinity Evaluation and Monitoring Report
- Northern Territory Dryland Salinity Assessment 1994 report
- Australian Dryland Salinity Assessment 2000 report
- National Technical Overview Report of the State-based dryland salinity assessments
- Australian Groundwater Flow Systems Report
- Northern Territory Department of Natural Resources, Environment and the Arts
- National Dryland Salinity Program
- National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality
Link to the Map Maker to make a map using this information.