Improving groundwater supply security through the Great Artesian Basin

underway

Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) infrastructure has the potential to improve water security. It builds resilience for existing water users, including communities. This assessment will identify groundwater connectivity and flow paths from the recharge areas of the New South Wales (NSW) Great Artesian Basin (GAB) into the deeper buried sections. The outcomes of this work will inform groundwater management decisions. This includes how much capacity there is to release additional access to GAB groundwater. These decisions need to ensure that they do not jeopardise the security of existing water supply infrastructure of the GAB. This project includes a detailed desktop study to advance possible large scale agricultural MAR schemes in irrigation areas of NSW. The first phase includes a preliminary desktop analysis of existing evidence, building on opportunities identified by CSIRO’s rapid appraisal research.