Australian Natural Resources Atlas

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Water resources - Overview - New South Wales

Location map of Alstonville Basalt

Groundwater Management Unit: Alstonville Basalt

Introduction

This GMU occupies the Alstonville Plateau which is an elevated land area of about 45,000 Ha in the far north-east of NSW, in the Ballina hinterland. It is in a reasonably high rainfall area with fertile basaltic soil, and supports a flourishing agricultural and horticultural industry. Bananas and pineapples have been grown since the late 1950s, with macadamia nuts, avocados and stone fruits from the 1970s. More recently there has been an expansion of hobby farms of less than 5 ha, growing coffee and a variety of tropical fruits. Some 14,000 Ha of prime horticultural land is available, and further expansion is expected. An expansion of the land area devoted to urban use is also expected to increase. Apart from the horticultural needs, rainfall run-off from the plateau has been used as a source of water for Ballina town water supply, and groundwater provides about half the town supply for Alstonville and Wollongbar. Much of the water for irrigation of the hobby farms is thought to come from bores licenced for stock and domestic purposes, and curent estimates of total abstractions might therefore be less than reality.

Vital Statistics:

Area: 450 Km2
Total water allocated: no data
Total water consumed: 9,400 ML/yr
Average salinity: 200 mg/l
Sustainable yield: 22,000 ML/yr
Depth to top of aquifier: 30 m

Further Information

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