Assisting the Proponents of a Northern Irrigated Agriculture Development to Monitor and Meet Environmental Outcomes
Tracks
Silent Conferencing
| Tuesday, August 27, 2024 |
| 2:45 PM - 3:05 PM |
Overview
Dr Dylan Irvine, Charles Darwin University
Speaker
Dr Dylan Irvine
Senior Lecturer
Charles Darwin University
Assisting the proponents of a northern irrigated agriculture development to monitor and meet environmental outcomes
Abstract
The Keep River catchment spans the Western Australian and Northern Territory borders, with the Keep River being the receiving environment of about 13,500 ha of farmland in the Ord River Irrigation Area. The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development is developing an updated water quality monitoring and management plan for the Keep River catchment. The plan is being developed with a broad range of stakeholders and in collaboration with researchers from the Northern Australian Research Alliance through the CRC for Developing Northern Australia Water Security Program.
Key activities in the Water Security Program include (1) a review of catchment management planning documents from tropical Australian catchments, (2) a risk assessment of relevant agrochemicals, and (3) investigations into the design of ecologically relevant instream standards and monitoring programs.
The water quality management planning documents span 26 tropical catchments across Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland. While agriculture is a consistent factor among the catchments, they experience a wide range of climatic conditions (e.g., temperature, rainfall) and flow conditions (e.g., flow regime, river regulation, etc.). The review identifies best practice in management approaches to deliver water quality outcomes while highlighting approaches best suited to the Keep River catchment, given its climatic and hydrological conditions.
As is the case with many regions around Australia, the farming systems in the Ord River Irrigation Area are expected to change over the coming years, with the Kununurra Cotton Gin scheduled to be operational in 2025. The transition to cotton, associated changes in agrochemicals and the timing of their application need to be considered in current and future monitoring programs.
The project assists in the development of a management approach and associated water quality and environmental monitoring strategies to meet its intended goals of facilitating agricultural development in an environmentally sustainable way.
Key activities in the Water Security Program include (1) a review of catchment management planning documents from tropical Australian catchments, (2) a risk assessment of relevant agrochemicals, and (3) investigations into the design of ecologically relevant instream standards and monitoring programs.
The water quality management planning documents span 26 tropical catchments across Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland. While agriculture is a consistent factor among the catchments, they experience a wide range of climatic conditions (e.g., temperature, rainfall) and flow conditions (e.g., flow regime, river regulation, etc.). The review identifies best practice in management approaches to deliver water quality outcomes while highlighting approaches best suited to the Keep River catchment, given its climatic and hydrological conditions.
As is the case with many regions around Australia, the farming systems in the Ord River Irrigation Area are expected to change over the coming years, with the Kununurra Cotton Gin scheduled to be operational in 2025. The transition to cotton, associated changes in agrochemicals and the timing of their application need to be considered in current and future monitoring programs.
The project assists in the development of a management approach and associated water quality and environmental monitoring strategies to meet its intended goals of facilitating agricultural development in an environmentally sustainable way.
Biography
Dylan is a groundwater scientist at Charles Darwin University in the Northern Territory. He has a broad range of research interests including studies of groundwater-fed springs and rivers, the use of isotopes to quantify hydrological processes, and projecting potential hydrological impacts due to climate change.
