‘Well’ equipped to handle groundwater monitoring

The MERI plan accompanies the recently adopted Water Allocation Plan (WAP), and has been developed to assess the effectiveness of the WAP in meeting a number of objectives relating to the security and sustainability of groundwater in the Southern Basins and Musgrave Prescribed Wells Areas.

Natural Resources Eyre Peninsula MERI Officer Ben Smith indicated the importance of this document in assisting with the management of our groundwater resources.

“The MERI plan will assess how effective the WAP has been in managing sustainable groundwater use, impacts on other groundwater resources, groundwater dependent ecosystems and current groundwater users, as well as the risks associated with groundwater salinity and seawater intrusion,” Mr Smith said.

“Some of the monitoring will commence immediately, while a detailed environmental monitoring program will start in spring.”

Improvements to the groundwater monitoring program have already been made, with the recent expansion of the Southern Basins monitoring network. Natural Resources Eyre Peninsula Landscapes Program Coordinator, Grant Lomman said monitoring of the Lincoln North groundwater lens was identified by the community as a priority for the region.

“The Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources has just installed seven new monitoring wells in this lens which will greatly increase our understanding of our groundwater resources in this part of the basin,” Mr Lomman said.

The WAP and accompanying MERI plan are available on the Natural Resources Eyre Peninsula website: www.landscape.sa.gov.au/ep