Allocating water and maintaining springs in the Great Artesian Basin - SA and NT
Project details
| Objective: | To improve the understanding of complex surface and groundwater interactions and mound spring characteristics in the Great Artesian Basin (GAB) in South Australia and the Northern Territory. |
| Funding: | $14,609 million plus GST with funding from the Australian Government Water Fund of $7,467 million, funding of $4.076 million from the South Australian Government and the remainder from Flinders University, Adelaide University, the University of Bern (Switzerland), and CSIRO Land and Water. |
| Jurisdiction: | Multi state |
| Commenced: | December 2007 |
| Completion: | 31 March 2012 |
Read about the project's progress.
About the project
The project will improve the understanding of complex surface and groundwater interactions and mound spring characteristics in the Great Artesian Basin (GAB) in South Australia and the Northern Territory. The project will investigate the groundwater recharge along the western margin of the GAB; map the spatial locations and elevations of the GAB springs; and develop capacity to determine water requirements for the environmentally significant mound springs.
Findings will be used by the South Australian Arid Lands Natural Resource Management Board to refine the Water Allocation Plan. The project will use innovative investigative techniques that will have relevance for investigations and management across other parts of the GAB.
Project benefits
The project will:
- improve the security of the water resource
- enhance the management and protection of sensitive water dependent ecosystems of the GAB, in particular the internationally significant mound springs
- contribute to the development of a recovery plan for threatened ecosystems dependent on natural discharge of groundwater from GAB springs
- build the capacity of water managers and users to sustainably manage water allocations from the GAB in this region
- return approximately 300ML a year to Dalhousie Springs in the form of environmental flows.
The project will advance the National Water Initiative objectives of recognising the connectivity between surface water and groundwater resources and managing connected systems as a single resource; and returning currently over allocated system to environmentally sustainable levels of extraction.