Frequently Asked Questions
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- What is the Australian Groundwater Insight?
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The Australian Groundwater Insight is a web based resource that allows access to nationally consistent groundwater information. It is an interactive mapping portal for groundwater information. Users can explore and interact with groundwater information about aquifers, management, entitlements, and more.
The Insight provides broadscale information on groundwater for non-technical users. Groundwater experts and those seeking specific localised data are encouraged to use the Australian Groundwater Explorer.
- What does the Australian Groundwater Insight do?
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The Insight brings together a collection of national information to allow users to gain an understanding of Australia’s groundwater – where it is, how it is changing and information on its quality and usability.
Using the portal enables the user to:
- Pan and zoom to an area of interest to look for groundwater related information and features.
- Query groundwater features at a specific location using the mouse or search function.
- Compare hydrogeology, management, entitlement and trends at any location in Australia.
- What information is included in the Australian Groundwater Insight?
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The Australian Groundwater Insight includes information on:
- The location of bores and data measured from bores;
- Aquifer locations, extends, names and layers;
- Groundwater entitlements and extractions;
- Trends and status of groundwater levels; and
- Average groundwater salinity and change in salinity.
- Where does the information come from?
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This information is derived from a variety of sources, both national and state based. Many agencies have contributed to the creation and review of the data including Geoscience Australia, State and Territory lead water agencies. For more information on each dataset please refer to the metadata page.
- How does the Australian Groundwater Insight differ from the Australian Groundwater Explorer?
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The Insight is intended for use by users with limited knowledge of groundwater, and presents an aggregation of groundwater data in an easy to use way. It represents a "snapshot" of Australian groundwater at user defined scales and several timescales. The Australian Groundwater Explorer presents data on a bore by bore basis, and contains a very detailed suite of data. The Australian Groundwater Explorer is designed for users with some level of groundwater knowledge.
- How often are the data updated?
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The data are updated on an annual basis, typically in line with the financial year.
The data in some maps do not change over time, e.g. aquifer boundaries. Data for these maps will be updated when newer versions become available.
- How do I find the groundwater level data?
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Locations of water level data are shown within the Bore Information menu. The data can be accessed and downloaded from within the Australian Groundwater Explorer. Specific bores in the Explorer can be accessed directly from the on the map and following the links in the map pop-up.
Specific requests for data can be sent to the Bureau's water mailbox water@bom.gov.au
- Why present groundwater trends?
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In water resource reporting there is often interest in a high level summary of the resource. For example, in surface water this is presented as a percent-full figure for major storages. As groundwater is more complex, there is no analogous figure to represent the status of groundwater resources.
Trends in groundwater level over time are shown because they reflect the trend in the groundwater resource in general. A trend in groundwater level is viewed as a way to sum up what is happening in the aquifer for communication and initial assessment. When applied spatially it can also highlight areas where levels are behaving similarly and where there are differences.
- Which devices does the Australian Groundwater Insight support?
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The Insight is designed to be mobile and tablet friendly, the layout changes dynamically based on the screen and size resolution of the device used.
The Insight supports all popular, recent, up-to-date devices. However, older and low powered devices may not perform well when viewing and zooming maps.
- Are the trends an assessment of groundwater resources?
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No, trends alone cannot be used to assess groundwater resources.
Assessing groundwater resources is typically a highly involved process. Consideration must be given to the many processes that can affect an aquifer: recharge rate, salinity, shallow water tables, surface water/groundwater interaction and environmental use. Aquifer specific, detailed knowledge is needed to properly interpret the cause of trends once they have been shown. This level of assessment can usually be found in groundwater management plans.
- Why does the map pop-up return 'N/A'?
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In some areas the map pop-up items will return 'N/A', meaning Not Available. This is because the particular map layer does not exist at this location, or the Bureau has not been able to find suitable data.
For example in the Groundwater Management Area map an N/A will appear where entitlement limits are not volumetric, unknown or not valid.
- Is the unassigned water the amount of water available for use?
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No. The ‘unassigned water’ is calculated as the percentage difference between the Entitlement Limit and Current Entitlement. It does not mean that any groundwater is available to be taken. The actual availability of new entitlements will depend on one or more local management rules. These rules typically assess potential new entitlements against the expected impacts on the environment, surface water and other users.
For further information regarding a Groundwater Management Area, refer to the local water manager. Links to local water managers’ websites are included in the GMA name within each map pop-up. The pop-up is accessed by clicking on the Groundwater Management Areas map.
- Who manages groundwater?
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Groundwater is managed by local authorities typically at the state and territory level. Within the Murray Darling Basin, the Basin Plan stipulates management areas and volumes; however, management still resides with local authorities.
In most cases the state government departments are responsible for the planning and issuing of groundwater licences. This includes the following:
- ACT - Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate
- NSW - WaterNSW
- NT - Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security
- QLD - Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water
- TAS - Department of Natural Resources and Environment
- WA - Department of Water and Environmental Regulation
In Victoria, Rural Water Corporations (RWC) manage and regulate groundwater, in conjunction with the Department of Environment and Climate Action. The RWCs that manage groundwater include Southern Rural Water, Grampians Wimmera Mallee Water and Goulburn Murray Water.
In conjunction with the Department for Environment and Water, South Australia's water plans are managed through their regional Landscape Boards. Boards that manage groundwater plans include:
- Hills and Fleurieu Landscape Board
- Green Adelaide Board
- Eyre Peninsula Landscape Board
- Northern and Yorke Landscape Board
- South Australian Arid Lands Landscape Board
- Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board
- Limestone Coast Landscape Board
The Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) is the principal government agency responsible for managing the Murray-Darling Basin in an integrated and sustainable manner. The MDBA, in collaboration with the basin states, have developed Sustainable Diversion Limits (SDLs), a volumetric limit as defined in the Basin Plan, that reflect an environmentally sustainable level of water use (or 'take'). However, management of groundwater resources remains with the local authorities, who are incorporating the SDLs into their Water Resource Plans.
- Why are there holes in the upper and middle aquifer maps?
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Holes in the upper and middle aquifers occur when the middle or lower aquifers are exposed at the ground surface or when the lower aquifer is exposed through the middle aquifer. It does not mean there are no aquifers in this location.
- How can I find out which aquifers are in my area?
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The Bureau grouped the aquifers across Australia into meaningful groups of upper/middle/lower. This simple layering system gives the viewer a sense of where there are multiple aquifers and if they are at surface or if they are buried. A table (hydrostratigraphic table) was also created which includes the main aquifer and aquitard names for 20 sedimentary basins across Australia. The main aquifer in each basin and within each group is highlighted in bold.
To find out which aquifers are in each group and in your area you can click on any part of the map and you will return a pop up that shows the aquifer name.
Details on the methodology used to group aquifers are found in the Bureau's aquifer boundaries methodology paper.
- How accurate are the entitlement on issue and extraction volumes?
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The entitlement on issue and the extraction maps show the total volume of groundwater entitlement and extraction held within the selected Groundwater Management Area, based on the Category 5 and 6 data submitted through the Water Regulations. This data is updated annually.
The actual volume of entitlement on issue may vary over time and may vary depending on what is considered an entitlement. For example the Bureau’s Water Regulations data does not include water for Domestic and Stock use in all States and territories.
Similarly, the actual volume of groundwater extraction may differ from the reported one because not all extractions are metered or reported in Water Regulation data. For example estimates for Statutory rights such as Domestic and Stock or mining extractions are not reported under the Water Regulations in all States and Territories.
- Why are groundwater extractions in WA so high?
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Groundwater extraction in Western Australia is estimated by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (WA), who assume that groundwater licensees use all of their entitlement. In addition, WA has a large number of mines that use groundwater, where it is often difficult to accurately monitor use.
- Why are there 11 years of extraction data in the SDL areas but only 7 years in the Management Areas and why are some values different?
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The data displayed for the MDB areas are taken from the Transitional sustainable diversion limits water take reports which provides data from 2012-13 to 2018-19 and Section 71 data for 2019-20 to 2022-23 delivered to the Bureau by the MDBA.
Extraction data for the national groundwater management areas map are provided by state and territory agencies under Category 5f of the Water Regulations 2008. Currently only a maximum of 7 years of data is shown because a national, quality checked dataset cannot be generated for a longer period.
Differences between the 2 datasets are due to the slightly different volumes represented by the data. The groundwater management areas show only licenced extractions, while the data presented in MDB areas include all type of extractions, e.g. individual stock and domestic basic rights. The groundwater management areas map does not include these extraction types as they are not available everywhere and would result in inconsistencies at the national level.
- Why is salinity change data only available for two analysis periods?
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Groundwater salinity typically changes very slowly. Rapid changes are indicative of major disruptions in the hydrologic system, such as major landuse changes, or reversing of flow directions near the coast due to pumping. The data available for the salinity change analysis presented here did not target these changes. As such it did not show meaningful insights at the national scale on an annual basis, as demonstrated by the 2 analysis periods shown. We will track future salinity changes on a longer time frame.
