National Management of GAB

The Great Artesian Basin covers four states; NSW, Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory. What happens in one state can impact another and yet the states, using different criteria not a standard approach, decide where development can take place. Environmental studies for individual developments do not assess the impacts in other states, or the cumulative impacts on the whole GAB.

Similar to the Murray Darling River system which also covers four states, the water in the GAB has been exploited by successive state governments to fill the coffers with no regard for overall impacts. Without independent management the states bicker over water allocations for short term economic benefit, disregarding long term effects.

The Murray Darling Basin Authority was established in 2007. An independent, expertise based statutory agency advises a six member authority on basin-wide strategy, policy and planning.

Soil scientist Rob Banks suggests that a similar authority be established for the management of the GAB. ‘A basin wide approach is needed, particularly in regard to development where water is extracted, then becomes a waste product.’

A regulative approach which is applied in Germany on a regional scale to manage potential impacts on groundwater is the concept of “Wasserschutzgebiet”, or clean recharge water protection area. Despite having relatively high rainfall and low evaporation, Germany predominantly sources its drinking waters and waters for agricultural or industrial applications through groundwater. These legislated groundwater protection zones are in place to protect both water quality and quantity and all land uses are highly regulated with respect to groundwater and surface activities within sensitive zones. The sensitive zones include recharge areas and areas in proximity to water bores. This approach to recharge has now been taken across the European Union. (EU 2014)

Rob recommends that a GAB-wide management authority should:

1. Assess how the few critical recharge zones might interact with future water supplies and recognise the recharge zone land as having very high value regardless of its agricultural production potential

2. Restrict land use in recharge zones and other areas to avoid potential catastrophic pressure losses.

3. Give CSG extraction parity with groundwater irrigation users, with stringent monitoring to ensure that the water resource, the recharge areas and the pressure is not affected.

References:

Great Artesian Basin RechargeSystems and Extent of Petroleum and Gas Leases, 2011, SoilFutures Consulting Pty Ltd for the Artesian Bore Water Users Association.

European Union (EU) 2014. Groundwater.Current Legislative Framework. EU. Brussels. Belgium.