Groundwater prospectivity in the Midlands area

Authors

L J. Baddock, Hydrogeoscience Pty Ltd
S Johnson, Hydroconcept Pty Ltd

Publication Date

6-2018

Abstract

As part of the Water For Food Midlands project, Department of Primary Industry and Regional Development (DPIRD) is undertaking mapping of high-quality agricultural land (HQAL) to identify areas of agricultural value. This mapping utilises data relating to soils, land capability and rainfall, that is being integrated into a GIS-format that is easy to comprehend and can be incorporated into planning processes. This report details the development and results of a GIS-based product that represents groundwater resource prospectivity for irrigated agriculture in the Midlands project area. The output maps will be useful for landowners and developers highlighting the opportunities and risks for accessing groundwater resources. It is envisaged that the final groundwater prospectivity and HQAL datasets will be combined to identify areas with suitable water and land conditions for irrigated agriculture. There has been no previous attempt to develop a groundwater prospectivity layer for groundwater resources in Western Australia. As such, this methodology has been progressively developed with ongoing discussion and review between Hydrogeoscience, Hydroconcept and Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER). The primary reference for this work is the northern Perth Basin Groundwater Bulletin entitled Northern Perth Basin: Geology, Hydrogeology and Groundwater Resources (Department of Water 2017) and associated digital data.

Number of Pages

66

Keywords

Midlands, groundwater prospectivity, hydrogeological mapping, irrigated agriculture

Disciplines

Agricultural Science | Agriculture | Soil Science | Water Resource Management

Comments

This report was prepared for the Midlands Water for Food project. As part of this project, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development conducted land and hydrological assessments for the two focus areas:

• Soil capability assessment for expanding irrigated agriculture in the Irwin focus area and surrounding lands
• Soil capability assessment for expanding irrigated agriculture in the Dinner Hill focus area, Midlands, Western Australia
• Hydrological hazard assessment for irrigated agriculture in the Irwin focus area

DPIRD also described the climate and examined potential commercial horticultural crops for the Midlands area:

• Crop and climate suitability for the Midlands area of Western Australia, 2nd edition

There is a separate summary report for the groundwater prospectivity assessment which can be downloaded from the Individual Parts below.

Recommended Citation

Baddock, LJ & Johnson, S 2018, Groundwater prospectivity in the Midlands area, a Water for Food project, prepared for Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, Perth.

Maps

Maps are not included as part of the complete document download. If this report contains a map, it will be available in the individual parts list below.