Publication Date
3-2014
Publisher
Innovative Groundwater Solutions
City
Blackwood
Abstract
Innovative Groundwater Solutions has been engaged by the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) to assist with the initial planning and design of the drilling and groundwater sampling program for the Broome Sandstone aquifer in the La Grange groundwater area.
There are multiple objectives of the drilling program, including defining aquifer stratigraphy and position of the salt-water interface; assessing groundwater recharge, residence time, lateral flow velocity and the source of water to culturally significant sites; enabling long-term monitoring of water level and water quality; and, ultimately, developing a groundwater model for the aquifer.
The following four tasks were considered important preparatory steps for the drilling program, the results of which are detailed in this report: review DAFWA’s preliminary interpretation of groundwater chemistry data collected from existing bores in 2013 derive preliminary estimates of recharge rate for shallow groundwater using the steady-state chloride mass balance method with best available data. work with DAFWA to determine suitable locations and completion details for new bores along 4-6 potential transects. recommend a suite of chemical and isotopic analytes for each of the proposed new bores, and the existing bores for which completion details are known along each transect.
Number of Pages
18
Keywords
Broome Sandstone aquifer, La Grange area, hydrochemistry, groundwater recharge, irrigated agriculture
Disciplines
Agricultural Science | Agriculture | Geology | Hydrology
Recommended Citation
Harrington, GA 2014, Broome Sandstone aquifer, La Grange groundwater area: a preliminary report on the hydrochemistry and groundwater recharge rates, with recommendations for future drilling and environmental tracer sampling, report to Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia, Innovative Groundwater Solutions Pty Ltd, Blackwood.
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Comments
The Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia, now part of DPIRD, conducted the four-year La Grange project to help determine the level of irrigated agriculture the Broome Sandstone aquifer can sustain. The project included investigating the hydrogeological processes of the aquifer, the interactions between all of its users, its environmental and cultural assets, and developing a water balance model to run irrigation scenarios. These investigations are reported in 'Groundwater investigations to support irrigated agriculture at La Grange, Western Australia: 2013–18 results'.
The data and information from this preliminary hydrochemistry assessment was used in A hydrochemical assessment of groundwater recharge and flow in the Broome Sandstone Aquifer, La Grange Area, Western Australia.