Inland Waters
Page 181
Currently for Port Adelaide Enfield, groundwater in the Wingfield and Dry Creek
area is prescribed within the Northern Adelaide Plains Prescribed Wells Area.
The remainder of the Council area, within the Central Adelaide Plains Area, is
under a notice of intent from the State Government to declare the prescription of
water resources. The NRM Boards manage the process, and have recently
released a Water Allocation Plan Concept Statement for the Central Adelaide
Plains Area (2013).
Northern Adelaide Plains Prescribed Wells Area
The Northern Adelaide Plains Prescribed Wells Area covers a section of the
City of Port Adelaide Enfield Area. The Northern Adelaide Plains area is
situated 10 to 40 km north of the Adelaide CBD, and covers approximately
750km² of the Adelaide coastal plains. Groundwater in the region is used
extensively for irrigation, as well as for industrial processes in the southern
section of the region included within the Port Adelaide Enfield Council area.
The Water Allocation Plan 2000 was prepared by the Northern Adelaide and
Barossa Water Catchment Board. Currently a revised water allocation plan is
being prepared by the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources
Management Board.
The upper groundwater resources in the North Adelaide Plains region consist of
four shallow Quaternary (Q1 to Q4) aquifers which generally have high natural
salinity levels, although these vary across the aquifer. The surface water
ecosystems of the Gawler River, Little Para River and Buckland Park wetlands
have a dependence on the shallow Q1 aquifer.
The deeper groundwater resources consist of the Tertiary 1 (T1) and Tertiary 2
(T2) aquifers. The T1 aquifer is accessed by industrial users within the City,
with Penrice – Dry Creek Salt Fields operations extracting approximately 1,000
ML/year. The T2 aquifer occurs across the whole region, and has a thickness
between 80 and 120 metres. A further T3 and T4 aquifers have been identified,
but have high salinity and are not suitable for irrigation.
Condition Indicator:
Ground Water quality classification of Northern Adelaide
Plains
The status of groundwater quality in the Northern Adelaide Plains has not
changed markedly since South Australia's
State of the Environment Report
2007.
As shown in table 35, Salinity is rated as poor for drinking and irrigation
purposes. (
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