Hydrobiologia (2005) 552:1–15
D. Ryder, A. Boulton & P. De Deckker (eds), Conservation and Management of Australia’s Water Resources:
20/20 Vision or Blind Faith – A Tribute to the late Bill Williams
DOI 10.1007/s10750-005-1501-x
Ó Springer 2005
Salt lakes in Australia: present problems and prognosis for the future
Brian V. Timms
School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, 2308 Callaghan, NSW, Australia
E-mail: [email protected]
Key words: secondary salinisation, mining, groundwater exploitation, water diversion, global climate change,
management
Abstract
Australia is a land of salt lakes and despite low human population density, many lakes are adversely
impacted by a range of factors. Secondary salinisation is the most pernicious force degrading lakes,
especially in south-west Western Australia where up to 30% of the landscape is predicted to be affected.
Mining also impinges on many salt lakes in this state, mainly through the dewatering of saline groundwater.
Exploitation of groundwater for irrigation caused some lakes in Victoria, Australia, to dry, especially the
significant Red Rock Complex. Global climate change will result in new water balances in endorheic lakes,
with most having less water, particularly the seasonal lakes of southern Australia. This has already happened in Lake Corangamite, Victoria, but the prime reason is diversion of inflowing floodwater. Consequently, the lake has retreated and become salinised compromising its status as a Ramsar site. Various
other lakes suffer from enhanced sedimentation, have introduced biota or their catchments are being
disturbed to their detriment. Enlightened management should be able to maintain some important lakes in
an acceptable condition, but, for most others, the future is bleak.
Introduction
Throughout the world there is almost as much
saline inland water (>3 g l)1) by volume as fresh
water (Shiklomanov, 1990), with most of the saline
lakes in arid and semi-arid zones. Given that 70%
of Australia is arid, it is not surprising that >80%
of lakes and wetlands by area are saline and occupy in excess of 100,000 km2 (Anon, 1911). Most
of these occur in Western Australia (e.g., Lakes
Barlee, Ballard, Carey, Cowan, Lefroy, Yindarlgooda) and South Australia (e.g., Lakes Eyre,
Frome, Torrens), the two driest states, but even
comparatively well-watered states like Victoria
have significant numbers of salt lakes (Fig. 1;
Williams, 1964). The salient features of salt lakes,
particularly those in Australia, are available in
Geddes et al. (1981), Williams (1981, 1998),
Hammer (1986), Pinder et al. (2002), and Timms
(in press) and references therein.
The vast majority of Australian salt lakes, the
iconic salinas of the ‘Outback’, are dry much of the
time and only hold water after episodic rain
events, years, decades or even centuries apart (e.g.,
Williams et al. (1998) on Lake Torrens for an
extreme case of rare filling). However, many
smaller lakes of southern Australia fill reliably
each winter–spring (e.g., De Deckker & Geddes
(1980) for the lakes of the Coorong region), while
some (e.g., Lakes Bullen Merri and Gnotuk) in
Victoria are permanent (e.g., Timms, 1976). At the
local or broad regional scale, salt lakes are significant landscape features, whether wet or dry.
Williams (2002) and Jellison et al. (in press)
review environmental threats to salt lakes worldwide, and likely status in 2025. In essence, permanent salt lakes such as Mono Lake in California
will shrink, while seasonally filled salt lakes, as for
example those in Mediterranean climates, will be
drier for longer periods. Numbers will rise as
freshwater lakes become saline. Episodic lakes
such as Lake Eyre will fill less frequently but more
intensely. The main threats to the continued existence of salt lakes on a world scale, in approximate
2
Figure 1. Map of Australia showing locations of lakes mentioned in the text.
order of importance, are: surface inflow diversions,
global climate change, groundwater extraction,
secondary salinisation, mining, biological disturbances, pollution, overfishing, and other catchment activities.
The global reviews by Williams (2002) and
Jellison et al. (in press) on environmental threats
and the future status of salt lakes give few examples from Australia and the environmental problems in Australia are of different emphasis.
Secondary salinisation is the most threatening
anthropogenic process, followed in approximate
order by mining, groundwater extraction, climate
and atmospheric changes, sedimentation and
deflation, surface flow diversions, biological disturbances, and other catchment activities. Some,
like secondary salinisation and acidification (Halse
et al., 2003), act in concert and exacerbate the
main imperiling factor. It is the purpose of this
paper to examine the conservation status and these
degrading factors of Australian salt lakes in this
world context, and to review management options.
Salinisation
General effects of salinisation
Secondary, or anthropogenically induced, salinisation is caused by either irrigation raising the
watertable in poorly drained areas and increasing
soil salinity by evapo-concentration, or by the
replacement of deep-rooted trees with shallowrooted crops in catchments. The latter will allow
more water to reach the watertable, raising it and
mobilising previously stored salt (Williams, 1999;
3
Davis et al., 2003; Halse et al., 2003). This dryland
salinity waterlogs low-lying parts of the landscape
and increases the salinity of its wetlands. An
obvious, visual signature in recently salinised
waterbodies is the death of fringing trees (Fig. 2a).
As a rule, species richness in inland saline
waters decreases with increasing salinity (Hammer,
1986) and, therefore, salinisation is likely to reduce
biological diversity. However, it is not always as
simple as this, as there are many confounding
Figure 2. (a) Pellana Lagoon, a salinised lake on the Eyre Peninsula, South Australia. Photograph taken November 2003. (b) Discharge of salt water from a mine into a salina in Western Australia. (c) Lake Werowrap and Red Rock Tarn in the Red Rock Complex,
Victoria. Photograph taken in from Red Rock Lookout looking southwest. (d) A buried fence at Lake Altibouka, north-west New
South Wales. Photograph by Richard Kingsford. (e) Deflation on Lake Bindegolly, southwest Queensland. Photograph by Mark
Handley. (f) Rubbish dump on an unnamed salt lake at Pingerup, WA.
4
influences including changed hydrology with more
water present, conversion of seasonal wetlands to
permanent waterbodies, greater nutrient loads,
acidification, the influence of turbidity and colour,
and associated habitat simplification (Davis et al.,
2003; Halse et al., 2003). Furthermore, the various
taxonomic groups living in salt lakes react differently to increasing salinity, obscuring the species
richness–salinity relationship even more (Pinder
et al., in press). Davis et al. (2003) opine that the
behaviour of many lakes can be modelled on
alternative stable state theory (sensu Scheffer,
1989) with two alternative states, macrophytedominated and phytoplankton-dominated lakes.
The latter lakes may suffer water quality problems
during and following phytoplankton blooms. A
further increase in salinity by evaporation will
cause a shift to a third state dominated by benthic
microbial mats (Fig. 3). Benthic microbial mats
support fewer species than submerged macrophytes. The thresholds of nutrients and salinity
promoting such switches are wide-ranging and are
still being determined, and experience so far
gathered in south-western Western Australian
wetlands (e.g., Sanders, 1991) suggest changes can
be influenced by episodic or unpredictable events
such as intense storms and extended extreme
heatwave conditions. However, there are many
transitional stages between the three states (macrophyte-dominated,
phytoplankton-dominated,
microbial mats).
Salinisation due to dryland salinity
Dryland salinity is particularly acute in the
wheatbelt of south-west Western Australia, where
>70% of Australia’s salinisation occurs
(NLWRA, 2001) and where up to 30% of the
landscape is predicted to be severely impacted
within a few decades (George et al., 2001). This
region is a ‘hotspot’ for aquatic invertebrate
diversity and also supports a wide range of aquatic
plants and waterbirds (Halse et al., 2003). However, initial increases in salinity in south-western
Western Australia are masked by the usually
broad natural salt-tolerance of the fauna, so that
many invertebrates easily accommodate changes
to 10,000 mg l)1 (Halse et al., 2003), whereas
elsewhere the threshold is lower (<5000 mg l)1)
and in some species as low as 1 g l)1 (e.g., the
rotifers Trichocerca spp.; Hart et al., 1991; Nielsen
et al., 2003a, b). Salinisation is so widespread in
the south-west of Western Australia and so
extreme that salinities in many lakes will be moderately to greatly elevated. As a result, it is predicted that within 100 years about one-third of
Figure 3. Model for ecological shifts in salt lakes due to increases in salinity and nutrients. The first set of diagrams (a) shows a lake
dominated by macrophytes (shown as plant-like symbols) changing to one dominated by phytoplankton (lake hatched grey) or
microbial mats (shown as minor growths on the lake floor). Increases or decreases in nutrient or salinity shown by vertical arrows. The
next two (b and c) show what happens when a lake dominated by microbial mats or phytoplankton changes. After J. Davis and L. Sim,
pers. comm.
5
freshwater invertebrates and, amazingly, a similar
proportion of halophilic invertebrates, will disappear from wheatbelt wetlands (Halse et al., 2003).
Given that almost 1000 invertebrate species have
been recorded from the wheatbelt of Western
Australia (Pinder et al., in press), this will indeed
be a great loss. Processes such as waterlogging and
particularly acidification will exacerbate these
losses. Few invertebrates are adapted to live in
acid saline lakes; these include the anostracan
Parartemia contracta, the copepod Calamoecia
trilobata, and a new species of the ostracod
Reticypris (Pinder et al., in press). Where acidification is associated with salinisation, diversity will
be particularly low. Catastrophic losses of aquatic
plants (Davis et al., 2003) and waterbirds (Halse
et al., 1993; Cale et al., 2003) are also predicted for
the Western Australian wheatbelt.
Dryland salinity also affects numerous saline
lakes in northwestern Victoria (Macumber, 1991),
including the Loddon Valley, the Lake Tyrrell area
and the lowlands of the Mallee region. Studies on
these areas have concentrated on groundwater
regimes (Macumber, 1991) and little is known of
biological disturbances. Information on dryland
salinity affecting salt lakes in South Australia is
scant, but Wangary Lake, Lake Baird and Pellana
Lagoon (Fig. 1) in the wheat-growing area of
southern Eyre Peninsula are degraded by increased
salt and probably also increased nutrients from
surrounding farms (Timms, unpubl. data). There
are no reports from other states of salt lakes degraded by dryland salinity, probably because
dryland salinity is less extensive and salt lakes are
less common in Queensland, New South Wales,
Tasmania, and the Territories.
Salinisation due to irrigation salinity
Irrigation-induced salinity per se usually has not
directly and significantly impacted saline lakes in
Australia as there are few lakes within irrigation
areas except in the Kerang–Swan Hill area of
northern Victoria. Many small saline lakes along
this section of the Murray floodplain have been
degraded for decades, but there have been no
studies documenting the situation. Many saline
lakes and some artificially constructed wetlands,
mainly in northern Victoria and south-western
NSW, lie adjacent to irrigation areas and are
indirectly affected by saline drainage water from
irrigated fields. Such lakes are used as evaporation
basins. In 2001, there were about 200 of these
along the Murray River (Williams, 2001). Biological information on them is sparse, but some like
the artificial Wakool-Tullakool Evaporation Basins 70 km west of Deniliquin, have become wetlands valuable for plants, waterbirds and salt
production (Roberts, 1995). Less is known about
natural lakes used for evaporation basins, but
hydroperiod and salinities are likely to have been
changed adversely for most biota. However, some
biota thrive in the changed conditions and are a
nuisance value to surrounding human communities (e.g., midges, some pestiferous waterbirds
using the wetland as a refuge; Roberts, 1995).
Mining
The Western Australian economy is underpinned
by mining, including gold and nickel extraction
around many of the large salinas (saline playas) in
the Kalgoorlie–Laverton area (Fig. 1). This activity is having a large impact on many salinas in this
area. There is also some mining activity impinging
on salt lakes near Edithburgh on Yorke Peninsula,
South Australia, Mulga Downs Salt Lake in
southwest Queensland, and at the Newmont Tanami Operations near Rabbit Flat in the Northern
Territory (Fig. 1).
When exploring ore deposits near to and under
lakes, roads are built out onto lake beds and may
affect the surface hydrology. Despite laws requiring their removal unless mining ensues, such
earthworks are rarely rehabilitated after exploration, so the lake surface becomes disfigured forever. During mining, lakes are further disturbed by
either using them as rock waste dumps (e.g.,
Wallaby Mine on Lake Carey, Western Australia)
or even mining within the lake (Red October Mine
on Lake Carey, WA). These activities are delimited
by embankments and involve a very small proportion of the large lake surface. More pervasive is
the disposal of groundwater from the mines onto
the lakes (Fig. 2b). Such water is often very saline
(>200 g l)1), and is thought to have no effect on
the lakes, so is sanctioned by the Environment
Protection Authority of the WA Government
(Bowen, 2000). The argument is that the extra
6
water added to a lake mimics the natural
environment of minor fillings following episodic
rain and that the limited fauna (brine shrimps
Parartemia spp. and ostracods, and copepods) is
extremely salt tolerant. This may be so, but there is
no peer-reviewed scientific research to prove it, just
private consultant reports to each mining venture
expressing their considered opinions. It is possible
that the conversion of an episodic lake into a semipermanent sheet of water may favour Artemia
parthenogenetica over the native Parartemia spp.
as has happened for some lakes near Perth that
were changed from seasonal to permanent waters
by secondary salinisation (B. Knott, pers. comm.).
Adding to the concern is the fact that at least the
species of Parartemia in Lakes Carey (Coleman
et al., 2004) and Yildarlgooda (V. Campagna,
pers. comm.) is undescribed and could be lost.
Also, at least in Lake Carey, there is a notostracan
Triops of uncertain affinities (Coleman et al.,
2004).
Mining can cause leakage of heavy metals into
the environment (Boulton & Brock, 1999), but
there is no published evidence of contamination
from heavy metals of Australian salt lakes, even in
the Western Australian goldfields with their
extensive addition of water to the salinas. In some
cases (e.g., Lake Carey), monitoring of effluent for
heavy metals suggests no problems, but mining
operations at other lakes may not be so fortunate
(M. Coleman, pers. comm.). Secrecy between
mining companies and their consultants prevents a
true assessment of possible contamination.
Another possible outcome of mine dewatering
onto the salinas has hardly been considered. This
concerns the effect of the extra salt loading when
the lake is filled episodically to the brim, and is a
metre or more deep and hyposaline, rather than
centimetres deep and hypersaline during more
typical fillings. Such events rarely occur and are
often associated with rain-bearing depressions
developed from cyclones. In the small Lake Arrow
near Kalgoorlie, a distinct hyposaline fauna,
including rare species of Branchinella (Timms,
2002) developed, following filling from cyclone
Bobby in 1995 (Chapman & Timms, in press).
There are indications of a similar situation in Lake
Miranda, near Leinster (J. John, pers. comm.).
Here, the biota was much more diverse during a
major filling when TDS was 25 g l)1 than during
more typical hypersaline fillings (J. John, pers.
comm.). It is possible that the extra salt load from
mine dewatering either kills the resistant stages of
the hyposaline crustaceans or perhaps causes a
hyposaline stage to be skipped. For Lake Carey,
many but not all of a likely hyposaline fauna live
in smaller water bodies in the catchment, meaning
that many elements of the fauna are available
nearby for colonisation when the lake floods
(Coleman et al., 2004). Eventually, the extra salt
would probably be lost from the system mainly by
deep leakage (M. Coleman, pers. comm.) so this
imperilment may not persist beyond decades. The
prevailing view, based on no scientific research, is
that the salt load is insufficient to affect any hyposaline stage in the lake’s filling, but what is ignored is that a hyposaline fauna generally has a
salinity tolerance an order of magnitude lower
than that of hypersaline fauna (Williams et al.,
1990). A 10 g l)1 salinity increase in a hyposaline
lake is catastrophic, whereas even a 100 g l)1
salinity increase in a hypersaline lake will change it
little. Furthermore, the components of any hyposaline fauna in Goldfields lakes of Western
Australia are virtually unknown, meaning a fauna
could become extinct before it is even recorded by
scientists.
Groundwater extraction
With an ever increasing pressure in rural Australia
to stabilise and diversify agricultural production,
landholders are turning more to irrigate the land.
Often, the source of water in individual on-farm
schemes is from underground aquifers, and yet
rarely is the resource properly assessed to determine sustainable yields. In some instances, so far
mainly restricted to the Western District of Victoria, groundwater-fed salt lakes are affected by
excessive local extraction of water for irrigation.
One notable example is the Red Rock volcanic
complex near Colac with its eight small lakes
which have received much scientific attention
(Fig. 2c) (Bayly, 1969; Hammer et al., 1973;
Walker, 1973; Hammer, 1981; Timms, 1983;
Chivas et al., 1986; Timms & Watts, 1986). The
craters lie within the unconfined Newer Volcanics
aquifer and until 1997 were discharge zones usually containing water. Groundwater flows through
7
them (from north to south-west in the case of Lake
Werowrap; Walker, 1973) and generally increases
in salinity along flow paths into the lakes (Adler,
2003). The lakes are of different salinities largely
because of their differing surface area:volume ratios, the effect of evaporation, and their position
with respect to the local water table. Compared to
other saline lakes in Australia their water chemistry is unusual due to an abundance of bicarbonate
rather than the ubiquitous sodium and chlorine
dominance. While the fauna so far catalogued in
the Red Rock lakes belongs to widespread species,
interest centres on some which reach higher-thanusual field salinities in these lakes due to the unique water chemistry and also the mix of species
assemblages in lakes close in proximity but diverse
in habitat (Bayly, 1969).
While a few of the lakes have been known to
dry during drought (e.g., Twin Lakes), most have
held water either continuously (Lake Coragulac,
Red Rock Tarn) or almost continuously (Purdigulac, Gnarlinegurk, Werowrap) since European
settlement. Yet, since 1997, all have remained dry
except for the occasional seasonal puddle of
atypically high salinity in some lakes (mostly
Gnarlinegurk and Red Rock Tarn). While there
has been some groundwater extraction near the
lakes for decades, the number of bores has multiplied in recent years. Adler (2003) has shown that
the watertable in the Red Rock Complex has
dropped 5 m in recent years so that the lakes are
recharge zones rather than discharge groundwater
lakes. This lowering of the watertable may be
partly due to the general drying of the climate in
western Victoria over the last 150 years (Jones
et al., 2001) and also contributed to by some drier
years than usual in the last five years, but Adler
(2003) concludes the drying is largely due to the
recent over-extraction of groundwater. The persistent lack of water in these lakes is also of social
and aesthetic concern, particularly now with a
change in society’s environmental values. The Red
Rock Complex is a tourist attraction, partially
enhanced by water in the lakes, and nearby residents bemoan their loss of amenity (A. Mahony,
pers. comm.).
The persistent drying of the lakes will impact
on their fauna. While the insect component can fly
elsewhere to survive dry times and return again
when the lakes fill, the dominant crustaceans,
rotifers and protists survive adverse times in situ as
resistant eggs or cysts. Should the lakes be dry long
enough, these resistant stages may lose their viability. In a floodplain situation involving fresh
water, Boulton & Lloyd (1992) found that viability
of resistant stages of nematodes, rotifers, cladocerans and ostracods was significantly reduced after
11 years. Saline lake fauna, on the other hand, is
probably adapted to wider environmental vicissitudes. Thus, loss of fauna will probably take much
longer and in any case at least some groups may
disperse as propagules into the lakes by wind and
via birds. Any loss means that when the lakes refill,
diversity will be reduced and the ecosystem will
perhaps remain unbalanced until propagules of all
taxa manage to disperse to the lakes from elsewhere.
Groundwater extraction is also affecting other
less remarkable saline lakes in the Western District
of Victoria, including Lake Barney Bolac. Furthermore, extraction of groundwater for town
supplies could well be impinging on some saline
lakes on Lower Eyre Peninsula, including Pillie
Lake near Port Lincoln (Timms, unpublished
data). Not one of these changes to lake status (wet
to dry) has been seriously challenged yet, although
there is community concern over the Red Rock
lakes issue. Society has to balance the monetary
gain by a few against the degradation now and
forever of landscape and biotic diversity appreciated by the wider populace. This adverse influence
on salt lakes and other wetlands is likely to increase greatly in future years as more groundwater
resources are overutilized.
Climate and atmospheric changes
As most salt lakes lie in endorheic basins, they are
particularly sensitive to changes in hydrological
budgets. In turn, these are influenced by even small
changes in climatic variables, especially evaporation and precipitation. Global climate warming
and associated predicted changes in precipitation
will adversely affect most salt lakes (Williams,
2002; Jellison et al., in press). Both versions of the
Hadley Centre global climate model (IPCC, 2001)
and recent assessments (Pittock, 2003) predict
decreased runoff for much of Australia. Permanent
lakes such as Bullen Merri and Gnotuk (Fig. 1)
8
will shrink and become more saline, while episodically filled lakes like Lake Eyre will fill less
frequently although perhaps more intensely, and
the seasonally filled lakes of southern Australia
will hold water for a shorter time each year and be
smaller (Williams, 2002). For areas where there is
the likelihood of increased runoff (e.g., northwestern Australia), there are few salt lakes. One
example is Lake Macleod (Fig. 1), which currently
is much influenced by marine springs (Halse et al.,
2000b) but increased freshwater input could well
be counterbalanced by increased flow of the
springs as sea level rises. There will be no such
buffer for the marine spring-fed coastal saline
lakes of Eyre Peninsula (e.g., Lake Hamilton,
Fig. 1) (Timms, unpublished data) as these are in
an area of predicted rainfall decrease; their springs
could enlarge and the contribution to their ecosystems by marine-derived species increase.
With the decrease of atmospheric ozone and
consequent increase in ultra violet radiation, it is
possible that some salt lake biota will be
adversely affected (Williams, 2002). Salt lakes are
particularly vulnerable to UV radiation as their
water is clear and usually shallow. As a result
the absorption of UV radiation is minimal but,
counteracting this is many organisms have pigmentation (e.g., Dunaliella salina, Daphniopsis
spp.; Calamoecia spp.) that may shield them
against UV effects. It is unknown whether there
is sufficient pigment to withstand this increased
radiation, or indeed how unpigmented organisms
will respond to changes.
Increasing partial pressures of carbon dioxide
in the atmosphere will lead to increased solution
of this gas in lake waters. Besides affecting pH
minimally (waters of salt lakes are usually well
buffered), precipitation of carbonate salts at
lower salinities could be affected, thereby
changing water chemistry in lower salinity lakes
(Radke et al., 2002) which in turn may influence
the distribution of many invertebrates, including
ostracods which are sensitive to carbonate ion
activities (Radke et al., 2003). Predicted higher
temperatures associated with climate change,
while threatening the survival of species in some
ecosystems (IPCC, 2001; Pittock, 2003), are
unlikely to influence salt lake biota because of
pre-existing adaptation to high temperatures
(Williams, 1985).
Surface flow diversions
Unlike many arid-zones, particularly western USA
and central Asia (Jellison et al., in press), Australia
has few terminal saline lakes connected to rivers
subject to hydrological diversions. Of course, there
is massive water withdrawal from most rivers,
particularly the Murray Darling system (Kingsford, 2000), but these flow to the sea. However,
one major lake suffers from water diversions to
prevent it flooding and hence disrupting farming
along its shores. Lake Corangamite in western
Victoria is the largest (ca. 250 km2) permanent
saline lake in Australia. Its limnology is well
researched (reviewed by Currey, 1964; Williams,
1995, 1998; Timms, 2004) but its conservation has
been mismanaged. This lake, being terminal and
shallow, fluctuates in area and when at high levels,
it floods farmland. To alleviate this problem, its
main inflowing stream, Woady Yaloak Creek was
diverted to the sea in the 1960s (Williams, 1995).
Since then, the lake has shrunk and increased
markedly in salinity from being hyposaline
(10–30 g l)1 ) to hypersaline (>110 g l)1 in 2003).
This has changed the biota from 24 invertebrate
species to a simple community of the brine shrimp
Parartemia zietziana, the copepod Calamoecia clitellata, the ostracod Australocypris robusta and the
isopod Haloniscus searlei. Interestingly, and
exhibiting the possibilities for colonization of the
lake when conditions change, Parartemia zietziana
is a recent addition to the lake’s fauna, but it used
to be present when the lake was hypersaline in the
1920s (Timms, 2004). The fish Galaxis maculatus
has disappeared and an abundant and rich avifauna (Black Swans, Eurasian Coot, Australian
Pelican, grebes, many ducks and waders) has been
reduced to a few species (Banded Stilt, Silver Gull,
Australasian Shelduck) (Timms, 2004). The lake
has also further eutrophied, mainly from dairy
farm runoff, although regional groundwater is
naturally rich in nitrate. Despite the lake being a
Ramsar site (ANCA, 1996), almost nothing has
been done in mitigation. Fortunately, all the animals formerly living in the lake still live in its
catchment and at least one (P. zietziana) has
shown its colonizing ability, so that restoration is
believed to be possible (Williams, 1995).
The situation is more positive for Lake Eyre
and the Paroo wetlands in the ‘Outback’ of central
9
Australia. A proposal in the 1990s to divert
Cooper Creek, a major waterway feeding Lake
Eyre, for irrigation (Walker et al., 1997; Kingsford
et al., 1998) is on hold, and the Lake Eyre Basin
agreement (Lake Eyre Basin Coordinating Group,
2000) probably will protect the lake. Similarly,
there was another proposal a year later to irrigate
from the Paroo in southwestern Queensland and
this would have denied water to fresh and subsaline lakes downstream (Kingsford, 1998; Kingsford et al., 1998). This proposition was annulled
by an intergovernmental agreement between
Queensland and New South Wales (NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service, 2003) not to develop this last free-flowing tributary of the Murray
Darling system.
Sedimentation and deflation
Soil erosion in Australia is widespread and higher
than world average (Australian State of the Environment Committee, 1996; Loughran et al., in
press). While the deposition of eroded material
within streams and on their floodplains has been
documented (Inland Waters Reference Group,
1996), the accelerated sedimentation within lakes
has hardly been noted. Aerial photographs (e.g.,
Fig. 4) and satellite images show fresh deltaic
deposits in many salt (and freshwater) lakes
throughout the country and there are numerous
instances of partially buried fences in lakes (e.g., in
Lake Altibouka, northwest NSW, J. Porter, pers.
comm., Fig. 2d).
Some data are available for saline lakes in the
Paroo (Timms, 2001, and unpublished data).
Gidgee Lake (Fig. 1) on Bloodwood Station has
been infilled by almost 25 cm during the last
50 years, and in Lake Wyara (Fig. 1) in the Currawinya National Park, deltaic deposits threaten
to connect islands to the shore. Shallowing in lakes
such as Gidgee Lake seem not to have affected
structure and functioning of the lake’s biota to
date (Timms, unpublished data), but surely, as the
lakes accumulate sediment, water will persist less,
upsetting life cycles and eventually these lakes will
no longer fill. The situation in Lake Wyara
(Figs. 1, 4) is more immediately threatening, as
islands important for bird breeding in this Ramsar
site are likely to be connected to the shore and so
lose their protection from introduced land-based
predators such as foxes and feral cats. Over the
last few years, proposals to investigate this phenomenon, let alone do remedial works, have
stagnated due to lack of funds.
Most lakes, fresh and saline, in inland Australia
owe their origin, at least in part, to deflation
(Timms, 1992). In present times, at least in some
salinas, deflation can undo the results of sedimentation, as seen over 10 years in North Blue
Lake in the Paroo River catchment. Here, occasional dust storms during dry times remove tonnes
of superficial sediments (cf. Knight et al., 1995), so
that additions by anthropogenically-induced sedimentation are matched by losses to deflation
(Timms, unpublished data). With lakes drying for
longer, deflation by wind erosion (McTainsh et al.,
1990) will be an important phenomenon (Fig. 2e).
Perhaps the inland will enter another period of
active lunette dune building (Bowler, 1983).
Biological disturbances
Many Australian inland waters are afflicted by
exotic biota, the chief of which are water hyacinth,
salvinia, alligator weed, mosquito fish and carp
(Australia: State of the Environment, 1996).
However, saline lakes are almost pristine in this
regard, partly associated with their remoteness and
partly with their harsh physiological environment.
Various hyposaline lakes in western Victoria are
used to raise eels, without any apparent ill-effects.
Artemia parthenogenetica, previously regarded as
an introduced species but now considered to be a
native species formerly restricted to just a few sites
(McMaster et al., in press), is spreading into disturbed saline lakes in Western Australia and
replacing the native Parartemia spp. The exact
nature of this replacement is unknown, but may be
a symptom of environmental change (mainly salinisation and lack of major seasonal hydrological
changes), rather than due to a primary factor such
as some change in its dispersal ability or environmental tolerances. Artemia sp. (presumably
A. franciscana) has also been reported in three
widely spaced South Australian localities away
from coastal salt works where it was originally
introduced many decades ago (Geddes & Williams, 1987). However, almost 20 years later
10
Figure 4. Vertical aerial photograph of Lake Wyara, taken June 1981. It shows the deltas of two of the western creeks depositing
sediment behind some long narrow islands. These islands, particularly the northern-most one, are used for breeding by many
waterbirds. Photograph used by permission, Commonwealth of Australia.
Artemia ?franciscana does not seem to have spread
further, but as Geddes & Williams (1987) point
out, the potential exists for Artemia spp. to spread
in the warmer saline waters of central and northern Australia. That A. parthenogenetica is already
doing this in Western Australia, albeit slowly and
mainly in disturbed sites invites vigilance.
Other catchment activities
Salt lakes are widely viewed by the public as waste
land so they are sometimes used as municipal
rubbish dumps (e.g., lakes at Newdegate, Pingerup
(Fig. 2f) and by farmers for the same purpose.
Public attitudes on this are changing so that this
practice is slowly being phased out. For instance,
the former rubbish dump in Lake Beeac, Victoria
(Timms, 1971) has been closed and rehabilitated
(R. Missen, pers.comm.).
Overdevelopment within lake catchments,
while a common scenario for freshwater lakes
overseas, is a new threat to at least one lake, Lake
Gnotuk in western Victoria (F. Morris, pers.
comm.). Proposed land subdivision and urbanisation within the catchment threatens the visual
11
amenity of the lake and will add to the nutrient
and sediment load to the lake. This lake is of
particular scientific value, not so much for its
present fauna, but for its sedimentary record useful in the study of past climates (Jones, 2003).
Finally, Lake Ballard in the Goldfields of Western
Australia is the site of placement of many weird
human statues scattered across the lake bed.
Whether this is viewed as art or environmental
vandalism is in the eye of the beholder, but certainly the many visitors are leaving their footprints
and rubbish around the lake. These affect the
natural environment and should be remediated.
Management and amelioration
Reversing the degradation of Australia’s salt lakes
is not a simple issue. Past environmental abuses
and factors beyond local control, such as global
warming, are extremely difficult to address. Other
problems need considerable scientific research before proper management is instigated, while still
others need better consultation between developers
and local communities. As discussed by Halse &
Massenbauer (2005), scientists and managers need
to work together and society needs to provide input too (Horwitz et al., 2004).
For lakes threatened and not yet damaged,
decisions can be reached by open forum if there is
sufficient and relevant scientific background. An
example is the proposed urbanisation of Lake
Gnotuk, and yet the local council has had to be
forced into consultation by the conservation lobby
(F. Morris, pers. comm.). For lakes where there is
one easily identifiable impinging factor, it should
be easy enough to manage this to restore the lake,
but in the case of Lake Corangamite this is proving difficult. It has taken decades for authorities to
recognise the problem and to instigate an enquiry
and, although the solution is science-based and
relatively inexpensive, there are vested interests
among landholders near the lake opposing it. All
this lake needs for restoration is controlled entry
of ‘nuisance’ floodwater to restore past levels (not
valuable water that could be used for town supply
or irrigation), but not too much to cause flooding
of farmland (Timms, 2004).
More difficult cases are presented by situations
where there is insufficient scientific information or
the problems are extensive and not easily addressed. An example of the former is mining near
or on salinas in Western Australia. Here, mining
companies are researching and monitoring their
environmental impact according to government
guidelines. However, in reality, there is a knowledge vacuum of their real effect on the lakes. Some
companies realise this and are trying to ensure that
their real impact is minimal and scientifically
based. The overall situation in the Western Australian Goldfields is exacerbated by commercial
secrecy, difficult logistic access and extreme episodicity of the lakes. Surely, it is the society’s
interest for government authorities to adequately
research their guidelines and resultant impacts.
Another example of development without
knowledge of environmental consequences is the
extraction of groundwater near the Red Rock
lakes. Until recently, evidence associating water
extraction with the drying of the Red Rock lakes
was circumstantial, but now research is beginning
to show a direct link between the two (Adler,
2003). The obvious should now be done and that is
to assess properly the sustainable yield of the
aquifer without causing environmental damage to
the Red Rock lakes and also intrusion of saline
water from Lake Corangamite. This should not be
technically difficult but there are now landholders
with much invested in infrastructure and livelihoods enhanced by an irrigation income.
Lakes suffering from enhanced sedimentation
are also moderately hard to manage and ameloriate
the damage. Examples include a few documented
cases in the Paroo and probably many others where
streams draining eroded and denuded catchments
empty into terminal lakes. In these cases, the science is simple and known (revegetation is possible
as proved on the harsh environment of mining
waste dumps in arid lands) but the problem so
diffuse and extensive and the costs so great, that
restoration is unlikely. Future degradation can be
reduced by preventing overgrazing within lake
catchments and hence exposure of soils to erosion,
but this is even difficult in national parks where, in
the case of lakes affected, much of the catchments is
beyond the park boundaries.
More complex is the management and amelioration of secondary salinisation of lakes, especially
in Western Australia. Here, considerable effort is
being made to understand the problem and to
12
implement management strategies, including for
lakes (e.g., Halse et al., 2003). Through the Western Australian State Salinity Strategy, much basic
scientific data have resulted (e.g., Keighery et al.,
in press) and via the Biodiversity Recovery
Catchment Program appropriate management on
some wetlands (e.g., Lake Toolibin, Lake Towerinning) is providing encouraging results (Froend &
McComb, 1991; Froend et al., 1997; Halse et al.,
2000a). While addressing the salinisation problem
is a mammoth task and many lakes and their biota
will be irreparably lost, it seems some representative wetland systems and their biota will survive.
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to Veronica Campagna, Mark
Coleman, Peri Coleman, Stuart Halse, Roger
Jones, Brenton Knott, Tony Mahony, Robert
Missen, Fiona Morris and Adrian Pinder for
providing information, to Olivier Ray-Lescure for
drawing Figure 1, to Richard Kingsford and Mark
Handley for providing photographs, to Jenny
Davis and Lien Sim for giving permission to use
their diagram in Fig. 3, and to Ian Bayly, Mark
Coleman, Mike Geddes, Stuart Halse and Patrick
De Deckker for helpful comments on the manuscript. I am alone responsible for interpretations
and opinions expressed here.
Conclusions
While Australia has no single major saline lake
issue such as the Aral Sea disaster in central Asia
(Micklin, 2004) or the Mono Lake ‘controversy’ in
California (Patten et al., 1987; Hart, 1996), taken
as a whole, the secondary salinisation problem as
seen in Western Australia is a world-ranking
problem. Rather than one big lake being affected,
secondary salinisation pervades a huge area and
affects many relatively small saline wetlands and
their biota. On the other hand, Lake Corangamite
is a large lake suffering major changes and hence
could be a headline problem, but most members of
society do not appreciate its value so it is no mini
‘Aral Sea’ or ‘Mono Lake’ case. Many other saline
lakes in Australia have been also been degraded,
but not yet damaged beyond rehabilitation
like many secondary salinised lakes in Western
Australia.
With the 2020 vision we can hope that the Lake
Gnotuk catchment will remain largely undeveloped, Lake Corangamite will recover sufficiently to
regain its Ramsar capabilities, groundwater
extraction will be within sustainable limits and not
affecting nearby lakes, especially the unique Red
Rock lakes, and some representative catchments in
the Western Australian wheatbelt will be well
managed to retain their diversity. However,
uncountable numbers of lakes will be salinised beyond redemption, especially in Western Australia,
and many of its large Goldfield salinas will be seas
of salt. Overriding this, most saline lakes will fill less
frequently due to climate change. To think otherwise for these latter groups is blind faith.
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