Advancing knowledge of groundwater in fractured rock in the Mount Lofty Ranges, Northern Adelaide Plains and Kangaroo Island
Mount Lofty Ranges, Northern Adelaide Plains and Kangaroo Island, South Australia
Total funding: $3.04 million with $1.52 million from the Australian Government and $1.52 million from the South Australian Government.
About the project
This project has assisted the South Australian Government to meet its groundwater assessment objectives under the National Water Initiative by improving the understanding of groundwater flows in fractured rock aquifers in the Mount Lofty Ranges, Northern Adelaide Plains and Kangaroo Island. By their nature, fractured rock groundwater systems are difficult to understand. This work has provided better knowledge of the storage, movement, recharge of groundwater and its interaction with surface water in the region.
Through use of innovative investigative methods including geophysical techniques, modelling and mapping coupled with fieldwork; information has been gathered on fractured rock groundwater systems that build on existing scientific knowledge and provide a more complete picture of how these systems operate on local and regional scales. The project provides catchment level information to inform groundwater management decisions.
The project commenced on 16 November 2006 and was completed in September 2010. The final reports for the project are below:
- Final summary report (PDF - 602 KB)
- Comparison of surface water-groundwater interactions in cleared and Pristine Catchments (PDF - 621 KB)
- Groundwater Flow Across Regional Scale Faults (PDF - 9,254 KB)
- Groundwater Flow Model of Cox Creek Catchment Mount Lofty Ranges South Australia (PDF - 3,827 KB)
- Predicting Catchment Scale Processes, Mount Lofty Ranges, South Australia (PDF - 4,961 KB)
- Surface Water- Groundwater Interactions in the Rocky River Catchment, Kangaroo Island, South Australia (PDF - 5,174 KB) |
Project benefits
The project:
- improved understanding of groundwater flow mechanisms in fractured rock aquifers resulting in accelerated water resource management in the region
- improved understanding of surface water and groundwater interactions and implications for complementary use
- improved understanding of zones of influence of groundwater extraction in fractured rock aquifers and improved knowledge of resource behaviour in order to improve overall groundwater management
- improved understanding of groundwater movement and recharge across faults
- identified catchment scale groundwater processes in fractured rock environments to improve understanding and management of these areas
- helped to maintain groundwater dependent ecosystems, and
- allowed groundwater extraction in new areas and potentially increased extraction by up to 50 per cent in existing areas of low groundwater extraction.
This project will assist the South Australian Government to meet its groundwater assessment objectives under the National Water Initiative.
Water Smart Australia projects are funded by the Australian Government's Water for the Future initiative.
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