Aerial imagery

Aerial and ground level observations of the salt ponds and the surrounding environment, extending from Dry Creek through to Middle Beach at the very top of the pond chain, were conducted through much of the early months of 2021, and more imagery was collected after Winter, when it became obvious that rains had remobilised the deposited salt and the ponds were again leaking. Click on the image carousels for images taken along the coastline.

Images showing impacts at the estuary of the Little Para from Spring 2020 through to Winter 2021

Leaking ponds bracket the Helps Road/Burrows Creek estuary

Spring 2020, Summer and Autumn 2021, impacts in the saltmarshes between Burrows Creek and St Kilda and images of brine in the leaking ponds

Pumping more seawater into the ponds at Port Gawler over Summer/Autumn 2021, with nowhere for the buildup of salt to go

Pumping more seawater into the ponds at Middle Beach over Summer/Autumn 2021 - nowhere for the buildup of salt to go, while dead mangroves in the ponds suggest brine levels and salinity have not been maintained in a steady state during the many years since closure of the saltfields operation.

More mangroves at St Kilda died in Spring 2021, after Winter rains mobilised the deposited salt again, creating brines of more than 300g/L that leaked from the ponds.