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| Great Artesian Basin Managed Aquifer Recharge | |
|---|---|
| Name | Great Artesian Basin Managed Aquifer Recharge |
| Location | Australia |
| Type | Managed aquifer recharge program |
| Basin | Great Artesian Basin |
| Status | Ongoing |
| Operators | Queensland Government, New South Wales Government, South Australian Government, Australian Government |
| Start | 21st century |
Great Artesian Basin Managed Aquifer Recharge Great Artesian Basin Managed Aquifer Recharge is a suite of engineered interventions to augment the Great Artesian Basin pressure and storage through deliberate injection and recharge, pursued by stakeholders including the Australian Government, Queensland Government, New South Wales Government, and South Australian Government. Projects link hydrogeological science from institutions such as the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and universities including the University of Queensland, University of New South Wales, and Flinders University with community partners like the Outback Communities Authority and Indigenous bodies including the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara and Wangkangurru Yarluyandi groups. The initiative intersects water resource frameworks like the National Water Initiative and regional plans such as the Murray–Darling Basin Plan while engaging funding mechanisms from programs administered by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (Australia) and the Australian Research Council.
Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) in the context of the Great Artesian Basin is motivated by declines in artesian pressure observed after development associated with pastoral bores drilled following exploration by figures linked to the 19th century, and subsequent large-scale water use regulated under instruments influenced by the National Water Commission and state water acts. Contemporary MAR integrates engineering firms linked to projects with research partners like the Australian Academy of Science, conservation NGOs such as the Australian Conservation Foundation, and local stakeholder groups including Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation and regional councils in Queensland, New South Wales, and South Australia. Funding and policy levers draw on examples from international recharge initiatives connected conceptually to work by the World Bank and practices promoted by the International Water Management Institute.
The stratigraphy and aquifer architecture of the basin have been described in technical syntheses by the Geoscience Australia and university research teams at the University of Adelaide and James Cook University, detailing aquifers in formations correlated to the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods and bounded by recharge areas proximate to the Great Dividing Range and discharge springs in the Simpson Desert and Lake Eyre Basin. Fault frameworks mapped by state geological surveys including the Queensland Geological Survey and South Australian Department for Energy and Mining control connectivity, while paleohydrological studies citing the Australian National University and the CSIRO constrain regional flowpaths and residence times. Hydrogeochemical signatures characterized by researchers at the University of Melbourne and Macquarie University reveal salinity gradients and isotopic tracers used to identify leakage pathways to features like the Cooper Basin and artesian springs on pastoral leases managed by entities such as the Grosvenor family and stations akin to Anna Creek Station.
MAR techniques trialed or proposed in the basin draw on methods documented by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization programs and include infiltration basins, injection wells, bank filtration adaptations, and induced recharge from rivers such as the Warrego River and ephemeral systems in the Channel Country. Engineering designs reference standards from the Australian Water Association and test methods developed with research funding from the Australian Research Council and industry partners including engineering consultancies with contracts for pastoral infrastructure. Hydrogeological modelling uses tools developed at the Bureau of Meteorology and hydrodynamic simulators common in work by the Cooperative Research Centres Program, while monitoring approaches adopt protocols informed by the International Association of Hydrogeologists and environmental assessment frameworks used by the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment.
Case studies span pilot trials in recharge near recharge zones influenced by the Great Dividing Range and experimental injections adjacent to infrastructure managed by state authorities like the Queensland Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy and the NSW Department of Planning and Environment. Collaborative projects have involved the CSIRO, the University of New South Wales, and regional partners such as the Far North Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils and pastoralists on properties comparable to Birdsville Station. Demonstration sites have evaluated outcomes with oversight from bodies like the National Water Commission and have been reported in forums convened by the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering and conferences hosted by the International Water Association.
Environmental assessments led by teams from the University of Adelaide, Monash University, and Flinders University examine risks including salinisation, mobilization of legacy contaminants, and impacts on culturally significant discharge springs important to groups such as the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara and communities in the Simpson Desert. Water quality monitoring protocols align with guidance from the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines and reviews by the National Health and Medical Research Council, with environmental offsets and biodiversity considerations coordinated with conservation agencies including the Department of Environment and Water (South Australia) and NGOs such as the Nature Conservation Society of South Australia.
Governance arrangements integrate federal-state instruments shaped by entities like the COAG processes and policy advice from the Productivity Commission, and involve Indigenous land managers represented by organisations including the Central Land Council and the Northern Land Council. Stakeholder engagement practices draw on models developed under programs with the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies and compliance mechanisms under state water acts administered by the Queensland Parliament and the Parliament of New South Wales. Funding partnerships have leveraged schemes administered by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications and philanthropic support coordinated with organisations such as the Ian Potter Foundation.
Long-term monitoring frameworks are implemented jointly by the Bureau of Meteorology, Geoscience Australia, and academic consortia at the Australian National University, utilising telemetry standards promoted by the Australian Government National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy and adaptive management cycles informed by the Independent Expert Scientific Committee on Coal Seam Gas and Large Coal Mining Development. Sustainability assessments account for climate projections from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and regional modelling by the CSIRO, while capacity building involves training delivered through institutions like the University of Queensland and skills programs supported by the Australian Skills Quality Authority.