I understand Klohn Crippen Berger Ltd (KCB) were retained by the NSW Department of Industry, Planning and Environment (DPIE) to ‘conduct a literature review of published recharge mechanisms and collate existing estimates of recharge for the Great Artesian Basin (GAB), focusing on the Southern and Eastern Recharge Groundwater Sources in New South Wales’. As a result of their review, KCB recommended recharge volumes in the Southern and Eastern Recharge Groundwater Sources should be increased.

WATER SHARING PLAN FOR THE NSW GREAT ARTESIAN BASIN
GROUNDWATER SOURCES
Groundwater Resource Description
NSW Great Artesian Basin
February 2020

Executive Summary This report and field study was produced as a result of the comments in the Santos 2016 Environmental Impact Statement that “no stygofauna were collected during the sampling regime by Eco Logical” and therefore “there is an uncertainty regarding the presence of stygofauna at the project areas, especially Leewood”. The aim of this report is to provide certainty by demonstrating via a more extensive survey of bores across the Pilliga that stygofauna do indeed exist in the shallow aquifers of the Pilliga Forest, are at risk from the current and proposed future development of Coal Seam Gas production and therefore need to be considered and included in the environmental management program.

Andrea Broughton, Groundwater Solutions International

I am a Senior Hydrogeologist trading under the name Groundwater Solutions International as part of Gradient Limited. I worked for the formerly named Department of Water Resources, NSW, from 1992 until 1995 as a Project Hydrogeologist and was located in Gunnedah/Sydney. As a result of my work I obtained a good understanding of the hydrogeological processes that occur within, and between, the southern Surat Basin and Gunnedah Basin geological units, having undertaken an intense property-by-property three year study of bores. Data collected and reviewed included bore and well hydrographic and water quality records; geological records from both the bores, wells and mining exploratory bores; hydrological data from creeks and rivers; and climatic data. I ran educational workshops for property owners and government employees working in the area. Since leaving Australia I have reviewed groundwater impacts of mining operations at the request of community groups. I maintain a keen interest in respect to any hydrogeological investigations, and other relevant scientific studies, undertaken in the Namoi Valley Catchment.

The First Edition of this report was presented to the NSW Minster for Water by the NSW Artesian Bore Water Users Association on the 7th November 2014. One of the immediate criticisms of the document was a lack of transparent peer review. In response to this a Revised Edition pas published with clear peer review references and presented to the NSW Minister for Water on 5th December 2014. The Revised Edition was also presented in person to Mr Troy Grant, NSW Deputy Premier in his offices at Dubbo on 19th December 2014.

 

Reports from the Great Artesian Basin Water Resource Assessment. Whole-of-basin and regional reports are available for download.

The Great Artesian Basin Water Resource Assessment findings were released at the Great Artesian Basin Coordinating Committee forum in Adelaide on 27 March 2013.

 

Australia is a land of extremes subject to an adverse and unreliable climate. The original inhabitants lived mainly in coastal zones without permanent settlements. European settlers, who arrived from 1788, founded towns from which they penetrated into the drier interior following rivers or sinking wells. There was pressure for Government to provide guidance in obtaining water supplies. The various States began to establish Geological Surveys in the 1850s and, although their prime objective was to advise on minerals they also advised on groundwater. Artesian water was discovered in 1878 and the boundaries of the Great Artesian Basin were established by around 1900. Declining yields and the long-term reliability of supply resulted in numerous conferences and committees. Following World War II geologists were appointed by organizations outside the Geological Survey. From the mid-1960s to 1980 intensive groundwater exploration took place and hydrogeology became accepted as a discipline in its own right.

 

Safe drinking water is essential to sustain life. Therefore, every effort needs to be taken to ensure that drinking water suppliers provide consumers with water that is safe to use. The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (the ADWG) are intended to provide a framework for good management of drinking water supplies that, if implemented, will assure safety at point of use. The ADWG have been developed after consideration of the best available scientific evidence. They are designed to provide an authoritative reference on what defines safe, good quality water, how it can be achieved and how it can be assured. They are concerned both with safety from a health point of view and with aesthetic quality

Introduction

I was briefed by EDO NSW on behalf of the North West Alliance to provide expert advice on the Narrabri Gas Project. The following report outlines my opinions regarding the environmental impact statement (EIS) that has been prepared for Santos’ Narrabri Gas Project, particularly regarding issues related to groundwater and surface water quality. I have prepared this report in accordance with the Expert Witness Code of Conduct.

Stuart Khan Associate Professor, School of Civil & Environmental Engineering. 

According to the EIS, around 37.5 gigalitres of water would be extracted from the target coal seams over the life of the project. Water production is generally not consistent over the life of a CSG well, but much greater volumes are extracted during the first few years, with significant declines thereafter.
The EIS describes the quality and management of produced water in Chapter 7. Somewhat unhelpfully, the salinity of the produced water is described in terms of electrical conductivity (in units of microSiemens per centimetre), rather than an actual salt concentration (in units of mg/L). It is stated that the average salinity is around 14,000 microSiemens per centimetre. The EIS states that “this level of salinity is approximately 30 percent of the salinity of seawater, which is around 50,000 microSiemens per centimetre”. 

1. Introduction

I confirm that in preparing this report I have read the Expert Witness Code of Conduct under the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 and I agree to be bound by it. The documents I have utilised in preparing this report are listed under the references section at the end of the report.

1 Executive Summary

This report is the result of independent review of the numerical groundwater modelling component of the Narrabri Gas Project (the Project) Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Construction of the numerical groundwater model is deemed to be based on sound reasoning and consideration of background information, and is consistent with standard industry practice and relevant guidelines.

There is a lack of observation data used to calibrate the model parameters with the exception of the net flux to groundwater over the Naomi Alluvium aquifer. As a result, the selected model parameters are based on expert review of background information and as such, have greater uncertainty than model parameters calibrated to observation data. The key model parameters and predictive model stresses influencing predictions of groundwater impact, have a large level of uncertainty, which results in high uncertainty in the model predictions.

A REPORT COMMISSIONED BY THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT AND GREAT ARTESIAN BASIN JURISDICTIONS BASED ON ADVICE FROM THE GREAT ARTESIAN BASIN COORDINATING COMMITTEE