What is the Rural Towns Program?
The Rural Towns Program was established in 1997 as part of the State Salinity Strategy to assist local communities to tackle townsite salinity. Townsite salinity has occurred because towns are traditionally built in low-lying areas. Natural development of the land and townsite area has resulted in tree clearing, causing watertables to rise. As the watertable rises it brings corrosive salts closer to the surface where they can damage roads, bridges, recreation areas, public buildings, even people’s homes. The Rural Towns Program aims to provide solutions to the environmental and economic problems that arise as a result of townsite salinity. The Rural Towns Program is working with local governments in WA’s agricultural region to measure the characteristics of groundwater systems and produce computer-generated models to predict the effects of townsite salinity in the future for each specific area. These models can also show the likely impact of various salinity management strategies suita
