Deep Australian Water Resource Information System (DAWRIS)
Project details
| Objective: |
To determine the availability and location of data to develop a Deep Australian Water Resource Information System. |
| Funding: |
$480,000, with the National Groundwater Action Plan and the Bureau of Meteorology each contributing $240,000. |
| Jurisdiction: |
National |
| Commenced: |
30 June 2008 |
| Completed: |
July 2009 |
About the project
The aim of the scoping study was to determine the availability and location of data to develop a Deep Australian Water Resource Information System (DAWRIS). The DAWRIS provided a systematic assessment of the quantity and quality of both fossil and live deep groundwater from the "bottom-up" in sedimentary basins and in basement rocks. The definition of deep groundwater is groundwater found below aquifers normally used for agricultural and industrial uses, nominally 300 metres.
The project combined datasets, knowledge and interpretation tools from the oil and gas industry to provide images of, and characterise, deeper groundwater resources.
Project benefits
The long-term strategic value of the proposal is that it will:
- identify deep aquifers that may have potential for future development
- identify aquifers that may be used for drought contingency
- provide a systematic evaluation of carbon sequestration sites which require saline aquifers of between 800 and 1700 metres
- decrease the costs of deep groundwater exploration drilling
- identify new (unknown) groundwater sources.
Progress
The project invovled a scoping study of the availability and location of data to develop a Deep Australian Water Resource Information System (DAWRIS). Information and data generated by the project underpin the Bureau of Meteorology Water products.