SOURCE goes salty for the Fitzroy
Saline mine releases and overall river salinity are hot topics for the Fitzroy River in central Queensland. Flooding dating back to 2008 has inundated many mine sites in the Fitzroy Basin, and discharge of excess mine water still remains a concern.
High salinity in freshwater systems impacts on freshwater organisms and ecosystem health, as well as other social and economic values such as suitability of the river for drinking water, livestock watering and crop irrigation. Salinity in the Fitzroy Basin can also originate from a variety of sources including groundwater, weathering of rocks, sodic soils, ocean spray deposits and anthropogenic land use practices such as irrigation and grazing.
The Australian Coal Association Research Program (ACARP) has recently funded a research and development (R&D) project to better understand salt generation and transport in the Fitzroy Basin, with the Fitzroy Partnership for River Health (FPRH) as the major partner.
Managed by BMT WBM, and with project collaborators Alluvium and Flowmatters, the R&D project involves developing a bespoke ‘salt module’ within the SOURCE numerical modelling framework.
The module utilises the existing functionality of the ‘Paddock to Reef’ model (created by the Qld DNRM) complemented by the findings of targeted research into salt generation and transport which are specific to the Fitzroy catchment.
The new salt module for SOURCE will build on the best available science to provide a platform for assessing future scenarios and the effectiveness of salinity management actions.
Additionally, a visualisation tool to enable input directly to the annual River Health Report Cards will be delivered by the FPRH.
Damion Cavanagh
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