Enhancing groundwater management by improving understanding of consumptive use: An example of a collaborative approach

Sustainable management of groundwater resources to prevent depletion and manage impacts requires a comprehensive understanding of the groundwater system and its water balance, including groundwater extracted for consumptive use. However, most bores used for cattle grazing in Australia are not metered as there are significant challenges with the logistics, costs, and user acceptance of meters and extraction is typically estimated. Within the Surat Cumulative Management Area (CMA) in Queensland, there are approximately 18,840 bores used for stock and domestic purposes. Current estimates suggest stock and domestic extractions represent around 20% of groundwater use across the region. However as less than 1% of bores in the region are metered, there remains a lot of uncertainty in the estimates.

To address this uncertainty, a world-first voluntary program of bore metering was undertaken involving collaboration between industry, government, The University of Queensland, and the community. The program involved selection of a representative subset of bores and the installation of non-invasive meters to record flow. Over the six years of the program, 54 bores across 40 properties were metered and annual interviews were held with landholders to improve understanding of the factors influencing groundwater extraction.

The data gathered through the program were used to develop a statistical model to predict groundwater extraction at the 18,000 bores in the study area that are not metered. The model was more accurate for the metered properties than analytical models previously applied. The study demonstrates that models developed using data for a representative subset of users can be an effective means of estimating groundwater extraction. The approach could be applied across a range of hydrological environments and agricultural settings globally to improve estimation of unmetered take.