Authors / CoAuthors
Punthakey, J. | Woolley, D.R.G. | Gow, L. | Brodie, R.S. | Green, R | Rumpf, C. | Burke, A. | Madden, J. | Cameron, C. | Dellow, P. | National Water Commission
Abstract
This report was compiled and written to summarise the four-year (2008 to 2012) 'Sustainable management of coastal groundwater resources' project. This project was funded by the National Water Commission's (NWC) Raising National Water Standards Program. Geoscience Australia was a key project partner, and worked closely with collaborators from Ecoseal, Arche Consulting, GHD, Kempsey Shire Council and the NSW Department of Primary Industries (Office of Water). The summary report was published under the National Water Commission's 'Waterlines' series. This executive summary document is supported by related publications that deal with the following topics: 1. hydrogeology, monitoring and hydrochemistry; 2. development of a groundwater flow and transport model for the Macleay Sands Aquifer; 3. mapping and risk assessment of groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs); 4. development and application of early warning indicators to assess the condition of groundwater resources; and 5. socioeconomic assessment and cost-benefit analysis, The key project objective was to develop an integrated approach for managing the availability and quality of coastal groundwater resources so that coastal aquifers do not become overallocated, depleted or degraded as a consequence of increasing demand from rapidly expanding urban centres such as South West Rocks. The second objective was to combine groundwater and seawater intrusion modelling tools, assessment of groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDEs), and a framework for applying indicators and cost–benefit analysis to support the long-term management of coastal sand aquifers. These methodologies can then be applied to similar coastal sand dune aquifers along the North Coast of New South Wales and help ensure that any new groundwater sources are developed sustainably, with minimal impact on GDEs such as coastal dune vegetation communities. The study will help improve management of groundwater resources in coastal dune aquifers in the Mid North Coast region and, potentially, other coastal communities reliant on coastal dune systems for water supplies.
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document
eCat Id
146204
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Keywords
- theme.ANZRC Fields of Research.rdf
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- EARTH SCIENCES
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- coastal sand aquifers
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- coastal hydrogeology
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- coastal groundwater resources
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- seawater intrusion
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- north coast New South Wales
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- groundwater resource management
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- groundwater-dependent ecosystems
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- cost-benefit analysis
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- National Water Commission
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- Published_External
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completed
Purpose
This Waterlines report provides an executive summary of the key findings and conclusions from the four-year NWC-funded project titled 'Sustainable management of coastal groundwater resources'. The project entailed five main components of work, including: 1. hydrogeology, monitoring and hydrochemistry; 2. development of a groundwater flow and transport model for the Macleay Sands Aquifer; 3. mapping and risk assessment of groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs); 4. development and application of early warning indicators to assess the condition of groundwater resources; and 5. socioeconomic assessment and cost-benefit analysis, Each of these work components is reported in greater detail in an accompanying publication. This summary report was originally published online in 2012 under the National Water Commission's 'Waterlines' report series. The work was funded under the NWC's Raising National Water Standards Program.
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geoscientificInformation
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Waterlines Report Series no. 79
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The work summarised in this report was the result of original research carried out by Geoscience Australia staff as part of a consortium of partners for a project funded by the National Water Commission (NWC). Project partners included Ecoseal, Arche Consulting, GHD, Kempsey Shire Council and the NSW Department of Primary Industries (Office of Water). This project commenced in 2008 and was completed in 2012. The Waterlines report provides a summary of the entire project and was originally published on the National Water Commission's website.
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[-31.2177, -30.856, 152.9122, 153.1469]
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