Electrical Conductivity, also known as salinity, is a measure of the amount of salt in water. Salt is a natural part of our environment and plants and animals need a little bit of salt to help them grow.

The issue of salinity is just like a set of balance scales with deep-rooted vegetation (trees) on one side, water (rain) on the other and groundwater down below. When the amount of vegetation and water in a landscape is balanced, salinity is kept at bay. If things get out of balance and water outnumbers the trees that use it, the watertable rises and salinity in our soil and waterways can become a big problem.

Watching the Fresh And Salty video is a great place to start to understand the process of salinity

Equipment: Electrical Conductivity (EC) meter

Unit: micro-siemens per centimetre (µS/cm)

Results:  high salt levels indicate poor water quality

Compare your reading to the Salinity Scale to see how it might impact on everyday life.

The saltier the water, the faster it conducts electricity and the higher reading the EC meter gives !