Groundwater Gunnedah Basin NSW What water information can tell us - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Groundwater Gunnedah Basin NSW What water information can tell us

Sedimentary basins in NSW that contain coal

NSW cross sections

Section through both the Gunnedah and Clarence Moreton Basins Cross Section B

Distribution of groundwater extraction

Gunnedah Basin: Distribution and purpose of groundwater rights Total rights ~ 340 GL Other alluvial (total) (~4 GL/yr) Lower Gwydir Alluvial Water Source (~28 GL/yr) Great Artesian Basin (total) (~35 GL/yr) Upper and Lower Namoi Alluvial Water Sources (~215 GL/yr) NSW MDB Porous Rock Groundwater Source (Gunnedah Oxley Basin) Macquarie and Bogan Alluvial (~22 GL/yr) Groundwater Sources (~22 GL/yr) NSW MDB Fractured Rock Water Sources (basalt) (~3 GL/yr)

Gunnedah Basin: Areas of Permian outcrop Cross Section 1 Cross Section 2

GunnedahBasin: vertical distribution of groundwater rights Cross Section 1 ~4,500 stock and domestic ~1,500 high yield ~3,500 stock and domestic ~150 high yield ~3,500 stock and domestic ~200 high yield Approximately 850 gas wells proposed Total rights 340 GL

Gunnedah Basin: Cross section (south western basin) Cross Section 2

Available water in and overlying the Gunnedah Basin 3,000 2,500 2,000 Water available (GL/yr) Environmental 1,500 Unassigned water Current rights 1,000 500 0 Groundwater Surface water

Available water in and overlying the Gunnedah Basin 1,000 Environmental 900 Unassigned water 800 Current rights Water available (Gl/yr) 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 Alluvial Great Gunnedah Fractured Namoi Gwydir Macquarie Border Rivers Unregulated Artesian Basin Basin Basalts Regulated Regulated and ‐ Regulated rivers River River Cudgegong Regulated Groundwater Surface water Note: Environmental water in groundwater systems in this chart does not include storage, which in the Gunnedah Basin is approximately 8,000,000 GL

GunnedahBasin Groundwater Regional volumetric risk quantified • CSG Narrabri Project average take estimated at 2 GL/yr. This represents: 1.8% of the porous rock • Average long term extraction limit annual volume from the Gunnedah Oxley Basin porous rock 1.8% • Licences have to be required by Santos at Narrabri obtained

GunnedahBasin: Groundwater monitoring sites

Baseline water level data ‐ Lower Gwydir Monitoring of 65 sites since the early 1970s

Groundwater level monitoring ‐ GAB

Baseline water level data ‐ Gunnedah Basin Monitoring ~ 10 bores in the Gunnedah Basin – Spring Ridge area since late 1970s

Groundwater level monitoring ‐ CastlereaghAlluvium

Relative comparison of basin size Clarence Moreton Basin Gunnedah Basin Gloucester Basin Murray Basin