When determining the design of the flood recovery projects, the issue of silt was a major topic for many growers. They were dealing with something that many hadn’t experienced before and there were so many variations of how silt was impacting their farms. 

“Silt” is a term used to describe the soil deposited on the surface by a flood.  The silt varies in different locations, but many found it to be a loamy sand texture which when wet is very slimy.

Every flood was different and every paddock was different, which meant there was no one size fits all for managing silt.

The extent of the silt damage also was dependent on the stage of growth of the turf, the turf species and the time of year.  

Other factors included the clogged creeks and drains that prevented the clearing of flood waters and for those in the Richmond Lowlands and Cornwallis area they had to deal with a major collapse of a drain that changed the flow of flood waters and destroyed farms.

The information developed on Silt Management includes:

• An online platform that growers can navigate to learn ways to manage silt using different applications for different turf species. 
• A video of growers interviewed on how they managed the challenges of the floods and in particular the silt.
• A report undertaken by Dr Mick Battam from AgEnviro Solutions