Action item 7.5

Progress

100%

Complete.
Approved by decision makers.
Recommendation implemented.

That before any further production approvals are granted, a regional water assessment be conducted as part of a SREBA for any prospective shale gas basin, commencing with the Beetaloo Sub-basin. The regional assessment should focus on surface and groundwater quality and quantity (recharge and flow), characterisation of surface and groundwater-dependent ecosystems, and the development of a regional groundwater model to assess the effects of proposed water extraction of the onshore shale gas industry on the dynamics and yield of the regional aquifer system.

Target completion date

Completed

Reform area
Safeguarding water and the environment
Project action
Assessing, protecting and monitoring water resources
Lead agency
Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security

Action item update

Implementation

The Strategic Regional and Environmental Baseline Assessment (SREBA) Framework (on the DEPWS website) was released in July 2020.

All field work for the Water Quality and Quantity studies within the SREBA program is complete. A detailed gap analysis of water-related information for the Beetaloo Basin was completed. New water monitoring bores in poorly studied western parts of the basin were established and drilling for additional new water monitoring bores to fill information gaps in other parts of the basin was completed. An extensive array of existing bores were tested for water quality during 2021 and 2022.

Charles Darwin University was contracted to undertake additional isotope analyses to further resolve groundwater connectivity questions and the National Centre for Ground Water Research and Training engaged to review water quality data information.

All reports are complete. All available data has been uploaded to the SREBA data catalogue on the DEPWS website.