Water

Community and school groups are invited to participate in a Ribbons of Blue/Waterwatch WA’s Saltwatch event for 2006.

The Avon Catchment Council aims to improve water quality in the Avon River and the condition of vegetation beside the river and its tributaries.

The Avon Catchment Council today announced details of a comprehensive $1.6 million initiative to help counter dryland salinity throughout the Wheatbelt region.

Ribbons of Blue is back in the Avon for 2006. The Department of Environment have obtained funding through the Avon Catchment Council’s Healthy Ecosystems project to recommence the Ribbons of Blue project. This is funded by the State and Australian Governments through the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality program.

The Avon Catchment Council (ACC) is providing support and information to farmers and landholders in the WA Wheatbelt to enable them to better understand water management, rainfall trends and climate change issues that impact on agriculture.

The Narembeen community are another step closer to resolving issues associated with disposal and management of deep drainage water after more information was provided by the Avon Catchment Council at a recent Stakeholder Reference Group (SRG) meeting in Bruce Rock. Hendy Cowan, Chair of the SRG commented at the meeting that “decisions made by the group on how to appropriately dispose of drainage water and provide governance for deep drain networks will potentially have wide-reaching benefits for the Wheatbelt community.”

Limited water resources are a problem faced by many farmers in the WA wheatbelt, especially as the demands for water for stock, spraying and domestic use increase. The Avon Catchment Council (ACC) is attempting to turn this around by providing support to farmers that enables them to improve water use efficiency on their land.

As the community-based natural resource management organisation for the Avon River Basin, the Avon Catchment Council (ACC) is helping provide direction to the regional community and governments on dryland salinity management options through deep drainage.

Farmers now have a website they can store the valuable information they collect on water table levels, salinity and acidity.

A project aimed at saving drinking water in the WA Wheatbelt could also help to sustain the local sports field, the lifeblood of many country towns.