Salt Interception Schemes have been an integral part of the Murray Basin salinity management program since the 1980’s, and have been so effective that during the Millenium Drought it is estimated that the operation of the Salt Interception Schemes avoided exceedances of the 800EC salinity target at Morgan that would have occurred for over 40% of the decade.
In addition to salinity benefits, it has also become clear that the operation of the Salt Interception Schemes has provided an substantial ecological benefit, particularly to large floodplain flora.
The SARFIIP program is being implemented as an integrated surface water and groundwater management strategy to improve the ecological condition of the Pike and Katarapko floodplains in South Australia. In this program, Australian Water Environments and the Department of Water and Natural Resources (Major Projects) are collaborating to deliver pragmatic and empirically based design options to manage the salinity impacts and the ecological risks associated with surface inundation of floodplains, and further the designs will enhance the ecological benefits of surface inundation. Groundwater pumping alone, without surface inundation, is anticipated to provide significant ecological benefits to existing vegetation.
The paper will provide an insight into the next generation of groundwater management infrastructure in the River Murray floodplains.