Groundwater
June 2008
The National Water Commission has released a position statement on groundwater. In the Commission's view groundwater is neither understood nor managed as well as it needs to be if this valuable resource is to be sustained into the future.
As the most urgent priority, concerted action must be taken to return over-allocated systems to sustainable levels.
Other priorities identified by the Commission include the need for nationally harmonised groundwater measurement standards and definitions, a groundwater stocktake in Northern Australia, better understanding of groundwater dependent ecosystems, and overcoming institutional barriers to managed aquifer recharge developments.
The Commission considers groundwater to be a critical component of the water cycle and one which requires greater effort to ensure its sustainable planning and management.
