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Salinity is a measurement of the concentration of salts in water. Technically, salinity is measured in Electrical Conductivity Units (ECU’s). The more salt in a liquid, the more it conducts electricity.

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It is assumed that the amount of salt entering the water of the Murray River would be close to a convoy of dump trucks emptying their trays of salt. Historically, the areas around Waikerie and Woolpunda contributed around 350 tonnes of salt a day. Thanks to the Governmental decision to implement the Salt Interception Schemes, this massive figure has been reduced by 85%. That's almost 300 tonnes of salt that is no longer going into the Murray River.

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It is assumed that the amount of salt entering the water of the Murray River would be close to a convoy of dump trucks emptying their trays of salt. Historically, the areas around Waikerie and Woolpunda contributed around 350 tonnes of salt a day. Thanks to the Governmental decision to implement the Salt Interception Schemes, this massive figure has been reduced by 85%. That's almost 300 tonnes of salt that is no longer going into the Murray River.

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Salt has always entered the River Murray because saline ground water would flow into the River from its surroundings. This was a natural occurrence, and before European settlement, nature took care of the River and its eco-systems, maintaining the right balance. But now that we are changing the landscape, disrupting the ground with crops, grazing animals and our own feet, more salt is rising to surface and becoming one with the Murray River.

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The Murray River supplies on average, half the water supply for the entirety of Australia, as well the crop growing areas supplying slightly less than that in food. In dire times, the Murray supplies 90% of Adelaide's drinking water. Without the Murray River in good health, many Australian towns would not function the same way.

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"A major problem facing the environment and the Australian agricultural industry is salinity. There is an acceptance by both government departments and the industry sector that the developed technology will play an important role in combating salinity in the Murray Darling Basin."

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"A major problem facing the environment and the Australian agricultural industry is salinity. There is an acceptance by both government departments and the industry sector that the developed technology will play an important role in combating salinity in the Murray Darling Basin."

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- Pyramid Salt

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Pyramid Salt, the salt farming company based out of Victoria, have important things to say about how the collecting, purifying and selling of this salt that is otherwise detrimental to the Murray-Darling Basin is extremely important. With new technology, salt interception schemes and crystalliser ponds, the high levels of salt are quickly becoming able to be used at pharmaceutical levels of need. As said on their website, the company vision “To be the international leader in commercial salt production that delivers solutions for sustainable agricultural and environmental management.”.

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This map shows the inception schemes along the Murray- Darling system put in place to collect excess salt.

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Although salt movement of the Murray river is staying relatively constant, there are quite a few areas in the Murray-Darling Basin that the salinity levels are fairly high. In towns such as Bendigo, Shepparton, Echuca and Wangaratta have over 6 tonnes of salt per square km each year. This may be because these towns are fairly popular in the summer and produce a lot of activity in the water which makes the salt rise to the surface. Rivers and Tributaries linked to the Murray River that contribute to the rising salinity levels have a substantial effect. Rivers such as the Murrumbidgee, Lachlan, Darling and Macquarie Rivers all have rising salinity levels.

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The impacts of salinity are widespread and can cause extreme problems within water and crop resources. In Loxton, South Australia, Source 1.55, we can see that salt has dried out the land, and cause all life within the old stream to break apart and loose life. Many plants and animals within these variable environments, where the salt levels are always increasing, are being swapped out and changed for crops that are suited to a environment that is salty.

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While the amount of salt in the Murray-Darling Basin is staying relatively constant, it is the movement of water through human activity that causes salt to rise to the surface. All along the Murray River, tributaries extend and make the water spread further, which gives more communities the chance to make an impact on the waterways. Farmers, who capture rainwater in dams to irrigate their crops are able to do so with minimal salinity problems, but once these dams run out of fresh water, then the water taken from the rivers, salinity problems sprout from the soil and water.