Springs of the southwestern great Artesian Basin, Australia: Balancing sustainable use and cultural and environmental values

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Mudd, GM
Currell, MJ
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Currell, Matthew

Katz, Brian

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2023
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Abstract

The Great Artesian Basin (GAB) is one of the world's largest groundwater systems and supports a wide variety of springs, associated ecosystems, and cultural values. Historically, groundwater was extracted from the GAB with little regard for sustainable management, with much of the groundwater from artesian bores wasted through evaporation and seepage. By the late twentieth century, agriculture still dominated groundwater extraction; however, water use for mining and petroleum projects began increasing, a trend that continues. In particular, the Olympic Dam mining project in South Australia has been extracting groundwater since 1983 from a wellfield located on the southwestern margins of the GAB, an area containing a vast array of culturally significant, ecologically unique, and sensitive springs, including iconic mound springs. The extraction rate has increased over time, leading to concerns about impacts on the springs and their associated values. There are plans to expand the mine that would potentially increase the extraction rate further. This chapter reviews the hydrogeological setting of the springs of the southwestern GAB and their cultural and environmental values and synthesizes and analyses the available groundwater monitoring data associated with the wellfield. The case highlights the critical importance of detailed spatial and temporal hydrogeological monitoring, including both spring flow rates and groundwater level/pressure data, and the need to link monitoring and management of such sites to key cultural and environmental values.

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Threats to Springs in a Changing World: Science and Policies for Protection

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Contaminant hydrology

Groundwater quality processes and contaminated land assessment

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Mudd, GM; Currell, MJ, Springs of the southwestern great Artesian Basin, Australia: Balancing sustainable use and cultural and environmental values, Threats to Springs in a Changing World: Science and Policies for Protection, 2023, pp. 69-84

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