Project overview

Bathurst experienced its worst drought on record between 2017 and 2019 which highlighted shortcomings in the security of the town water supply.

There is a gap of 2,805 megalitres (ML) between the water supply available and what is required for the current population of Bathurst.

To address this gap, the Bathurst Regional Council is identifying opportunities to use other water sources through this detailed business case project.

The Bathurst Water Harvesting project is being delivered in 2 stages:

Project overview

Communicating groundwater decisions is difficult when communities or stakeholders do not have a good understanding of the concepts and processes. Groundwater flows, unlike surface water, are hidden making it harder to explain how the system and processes work. This project proposes to increase groundwater knowledge and understanding for Indigenous Australians, communities and groundwater practitioners.

Project overview

Most of Australia’s regional and remote communities are dependent on groundwater resources for their water supply. Many ecosystems are also dependent on groundwater supplies for healthy functioning.

The purpose of the project is to rewrite and update the nation’s current groundwater modelling guidelines, improving the scientific foundation from which decision-making is derived, influencing water availability, security and quality outcomes.

Project overview

The project aims to establish a systematic methodology for describing Aboriginal water science features on Anmatyerre and Kaytetye Country within the Ti Tree Paleochannel in the Northern Territory.

Indigenous languages have unique understandings of the ecological systems, including elements such as groundwater dependencies, response and connectivity. Indigenous insight into groundwater in the Arid Zone is particularly valuable due to their connections to waterholes, springs and seeps. This allowed them to sustain life during long periods of drought.

Project overview

This project will assess water infrastructure in at least 48 Aboriginal communities. This will provide a better understanding of:

• the condition of the infrastructure
• the work needed to meet community needs and drinking water guidelines
• how urgent the work is.

The completed assessments are already being used to plan for future upgrades.

On-Country engagement with communities plays a key role in this project. The Water Corporation is collecting information on community views, priorities and aspirations.

Project overview

Groundwater is an important source of water for communities or agriculture in many parts of Australia. However, groundwater can have salts, minerals or other chemicals dissolved in it. Water with these natural contaminants may need to be treated before it can be used. Treatment to remove dissolved salts and other contaminants is called desalination.

This project is a practical pilot demonstration of an emerging desalination technology  called iFORO, at several sites in regional Western Australia.

The Northern Territory’s Keep River Plains are suitable for irrigated agriculture but lack adequate water infrastructure. New infrastructure could enable up to an additional 24,700 hectares of irrigated agriculture and deliver significant economic growth.

The detailed business case will investigate:

Population growth and tourism have placed pressure on the Lower Great Southern Towns Water Supply Scheme (the Scheme). Additional water supplies are needed to provide long-term water security for more than 40,000 people throughout:

The Mitchell River Water Supply System in East Gippsland has faced ongoing water security issues. The region has experienced severe climate events in the past and needs a more resilient water supply.

The business case will investigate constructing a new storage basin to the north of 2 existing storages in East Gippsland. It is anticipated that a new storage basin would:

Wangaratta’s water supply is unreliable and regularly subject to drought, flood, and the effects of bushfires. There are currently around 30,000 residents who rely on the water supply network in the town and nearby areas. This lack of water security can result in limited population growth, reduced liveability and an increased threat of water restrictions.