Salt Interception Works - What are They?

Salt interception works are large-scale groundwater pumping and drainage projects that intercept saline water flows and dispose of them, generally by evaporation. Since 1988, the States of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia together with the Commonwealth Government have funded the construction of salt interception works that resulted in a reduction of 80 EC units at Morgan. (An EC unit is a measure of salinity concentration)

To achieve this reduction, these salt interception works have together pumped about 55 000 megalitres of saline water from the watertables each year, resulting in about 550 000 tonnes of salt being kept out of the River Murray each year. (1 megalitre = volume of 1 Olympic-size swimming pool).

To maintain Morgan salinity at 800 EC or less for 95 per cent of the time, for the life of the Basin Salinity Management Strategy (2015), a further reduction in salinity of about 1000 EC at Morgan will have to be found by new engineering works.

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All photographs © 2003 Phil Pfeiffer