It is a well known fact the extensive 650 kilometre network of drains have reduced the volume and quality of water available to wetlands, which has been exacerbated by a run of dry seasons.

Ms Goodman is hoping her research will show that some of the highly saline water which flows through the network of drains and out to the Coorong can be diverted back into the area's important wetlands.

"Wetland drainage is not ideal but the drains are there and there is evidence that they are good for agricultural purposes, so we need to manage the drains in a way that is ecologically beneficial for the environment," she said.

The researcher in the second year of her PhD with the School of Civil, Environmental & Mining Engineering has just taken out the Best Student Presentation award at the Australian Society of Limnology (the study of inland waters) Conference.

Her project titled 'Impacts of an altered water and salinity regime on the condition of wetlands in the Upper South East of South Australia' examines how water management changes in the Upper South East, including how construction of deep ground water drains affects the health of 200 wetlands in the region.

She hopes the results will assist the Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation make future decisions such as whether the regulators along the drains can be opened to divert saline water into wetlands for ecological benefits, and understand the threshold levels for key aquatic plant species.

* Extract from a full report in Stock Journal, January 1 issue.