Region: Portland

Legal Number: LEGL/93-13

Plantation: Bahgallah

Conservation Priority: High

Plantation within S.E.A.S Sapfor (Auspine) area of supply.

Plantation within AKD Softwoods area of supply.

93-13a Jan 01: Drainage line close to the Glenelg River. Filled up with sand.

Plantation located in Glenelg Water Supply Protection Area

A portion of this plantation area, just north of the Glenelg River is probably a known recharge area for the Dilwyn confined aquifer. The Dilwyn Aquifer provides drinking water to Portland, Dartmoor and Heywood.

The Nationally Threatened Temperate Grassland & Grassy Eucalypt Woodland Ecological Community may occur in this plantation or in close proximity.

Plantation located on Victorian Volcanic Plain Bioregion.

More Information:

http://www.environment.gov.au/epbc/publications/pubs/grasslands-victoria.pdf

Plantation maps of region here

THREATENED FISH NOTES - GLENELG RIVER: Yarra Pygmy Perch and Ewens Pygmy Perch found in the Glenelg system. Both species listed under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act in Victoria and threatened.

Aerial View of Bahgallah Plantations looking south west adjoining Drajurk State Forest. Photo dates from approximately 2001.

This plantation was very likely to be aerially sprayed with 2,4,5-T between 1968 and 1977. The Dioxin TCDD may still exist in soil in this plantation. For more historical data on 2,4,5-T click here. For more information concerning the continuing health crisis concerning 2,4,5-T please forward to here.

Herbicides Used by Hancock in Pine Plantations South Western Victoria

Herbicide
Label Rate max as kg/ha
Used to control
Notes
Application
2.55
Woody Weeds
Highly Toxic/Potential Ground water Contaminant
air or ground
3.6
Herbaceous and woody weeds, noxious weeds
4
Woody Weeds
Ground Water Contaminant
Aerial, ground, spot
0.06
Woody Weeds, Noxious Weeds
Potential Ground Water Contaminant
Aerial, ground or spot
3
Woody and Noxious Weeds
Ground, spot, basal bark



Responsible Authority: Glenelg Shire Council

Plantation Catchment: Lies in SE corner of Drajurk State Forest. North aspect drains north into swamps. Southern aspect almost right on Glenelg River. About 3 creeks in plantation feed into Glenelg River.

Catchment Managment Authority: Glenelg-Hopkins Catchment Management Authority.

Hancock Watch Site visit Jan 01: Area appears to be all pine on flat land. Some native forest - a very narrow strip occurs along Gills track. One trib of Glenelg River filled with sand.

Glenelg River: Casterton to Coast - Flows through forest and grazing land, mud bottom. Contains a few brown trout and rainbow trout from small self-supporting populations near Casterton and some Redfin to 450g. Golden Perch were stocked for several years in an attempt to provide a replacement for the trout fishery as salmonoids can no longer survive in most of the river. However golden perch stockings did not succeed.

Source: A Guide to the Inland Angling Waters of Victoria by BR Tunbridge, PL Rogan, CA Barnham. Department Conservation and Environment. Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, 123 Brown St, Heidelberg, 3084. (4th ed - 1991)


93-13b Jan 01: Flat country. Limited slopes.


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"Groundwater: "In south-western Victoria the Otway Basin stretches from the South Australian border almost to the west of Geelong. It contains older sediments of Upper Cretaceous and Lower Tertiary age, up to 2000 m in thickness. These include four sand aquifers and two limestone aquifers. The sand aquifers of the Wangerrip Group are confined over most of the Basin and their recharge zones are located on the margins of the Otway Range in the east and the Merino Tablelands in the West. The groundwater moves towards the coast, increasing in salinity along its floorpath . . ." p268 State of the Environment Report 1988 Victoria's Inland Waters. Office of the Commissioner for the Environment.

"Shallow aquifers in the Glenelg River Basin occur in four main geologic units. Extending from the north-east of the Basin is a fractured rock basement aquifer composed of folded sediment, metamorphics and granite. In the north-east and also in the vicinity of the confluence of the Glenelg and Wannon Rivers, the basement aquifer is overlain by alluvial aquifers from the Quaternary period. The third unit is a Newer Volcanic aquifer which lies along much of the Basin's southern boundary, particularly in the east. This fractured rock aquifer is composed of basalt, scoria and tuff. The fourth unit is composed of dune sand and beach deposits extending from the south-west corner of the Basin up to the western boundary and along the northern boundary. It is known as the Bridgewater formation.

A deep aquifer system exists in the south-west of the Basin and extends to the top of the western boundary and half-way across the southern boundary. This sand aquifer, which is significant as a water source, occurs within the Wangerrip Group.

Generally, groundwater quality in the Basin decreases towards the north where it is saline. A large reserve of fresh water is held in the north-east corner of the catchment and in the south-west the water is of marginal quality . . ." p295 Water Victoria A Resource Handbook - Department of Water Resources Victoria 1989.

 

Victree S.E.A.S Sapfor Ewens Pygmy Perch Auspine Golden Perch Yarra Pygmy Perch Trout Salmonoids Glenelg River Portland