Cracks on a brick wall caused by salinity

Rising watertables have destabilised road foundations in parts of Wagga Wagga and I saw a lot of potholes on the roads. The Roads and Traffic Authority and Wagga Wagga City Council have to continuously reconstruct and maintain urban roads. The processes of urban salinity also damage buildings and other structures. The foundations of houses are weakened and cracks develop. Salt is brought up by capillary action of water and deposits on the walls. At one house, I found water seeping out from a crack in its driveway. It is evidence that the water table is very high. That is not good for the property and its price. In the campus of Charles Sturt University, a playing ground had become useless because of waterlogging. A small brick house on the edge of it had salt on its walls.

Salt on the ground beside Sturt Highway		Potholes on Sturt Highway

Groundwater seeping out from the driveway of a property		Groundwater weakens the foundation of a house, causing cracks

Bare playing grounds and a brick building with salt at Charles Sturt University		Water rising up, depositing salt on the bricks of the building