Dr Jürgen Schaeffer SRK Consulting Melbourne Australia

Dr Jürgen Schaeffer Schaeffer 

SRK Consulting Melbourne Australia 

Daniel Clarke- SRK Newcastle Adele Ventura - SRK Brisbane

Overview 

� Groundwater’s Contribution to Global Water Resources 

� What is Groundwater? 

� The Hydrological Cycle 

�� Terminologies 

� Aquifer, Aquitard, Aquiclude, 

� Hydraulic properties 

� Different Aquifer Types 

� History of Development 

� Distribution of Groundwater 

IGM Outreach Program May 8-9 2012 Kuala Lumpur Dr Jürgen Schaeffer SRK Consulting

Overview continued 

� Development of Groundwater – its uses 

� Protection of Groundwater 

� Management Practices. 

� Groundwater and the Future 


Global Water Resources 

� 97.5% of Worlds Water in 

the Oceans 

� Of the Remaining 2.5% 

�� 2/3 in glaciers, snow & ice 

� 1/3 in groundwater 

� 0.3% freshwater rivers & lakes 

� If all the earths water were 

stored in a 5-litre container, 

available freshwater ~ 1 

teaspoon. 



What is Groundwater? 


The Hydrological Cycle 

The connection between surface and groundwater 


Terminology 

� Aquifer, Aquitard, Aquiclude 

� Groundwater collects in permeable geological formations called aquifers. The water remains in situ due 

to either lesser permeable units called aquitards or impermeable units called aquicludes binding the 

aquifer. 

Aquifer 

Aquitard 

Aquiclude 


Terminology - Porosity 

Porosity: A fraction between 0 and 1 of void 

space in a material. 

There are two types: 

1. Primary porosity: The original 

porosity associated with a deposit 

2. Secondary porosity: A subsequent 

porosity that results either from 

chemical leaching or the generation 

of a fracture system. 


1. Alluvium: river deposits 

Aquifer Types 

2. Palaeochannels: ancient river deposits 

3. Sedimentary Basins: large areas of porous, 

consolidated sedimentary rock 

4. Fractured Rocks: rocks which can store water in 

fissures 

5. Karst: rocks with porosity arising from dissolution 

6. Coastal: unconsolidated deposits with primary 

porosity only 


History of Development 

38,000 BC 

400 BC 

1500 

1800 

1950’s 

� 


Qanats 


Wells 



38,000 BC 

400 BC 

1500 

1800 

1950’s 

� 



� Irrigation 

� Managed Aquifer Recharge 

� Coal Seam Gas and Mining 

� Everyone wants a hydrogeologist 


Groundwater Distribution

Groundwater Distribution 

IGM Outreach Program May 8-9 2012 Kuala Lumpur 

Dr Jürgen Schaeffer SRK Consulting

Groundwater Withdrawal 


Global Groundwater Storage 


Storage by Aquifer Type 

Fractured rocks and Karsts 

(Complex heterogeneous) 

Alluvium and Paleochannels 

(Local shallow) 

Sedimentary Basins 

(Homogeneous) 


Australian Aquifer Types 


� Domestic 

Uses of Groundwater 

� Drinking washing, cleaning, heating, cooling 

� Farming 

� irrigation, stock watering 

� Industry 

� Process water, washing, cooling, heating, water supply 

� Power Supply 

� Mining 

� Environment 


Groundwater Withdrawal - Irrigation 

Australia (~8 km 3 per year) 


Protection of Groundwater 

� Why do we need to protect? 

� Out of sight out of mind 

� Conservation and costs 

� Storage � Quality 

� Declining Water Levels 

� Reduction on resource 

� More expensive to extract 

� Subsidence 

� Water quality changes 

� Increasing Salinity 

� Temperature 

� GDE (groundwater dependent ecosystems) 

� The water cycle 


Groundwater Withdrawal Impacts 

60.0 

50.0 

40.0 

30.0 

20.0 

10.0 

M elbourne 

Groundwater Levels TFAS 

Sale 

M orw ell 

Lakes Entrance 

0.0 

Sep-78 Sep-81 Sep-84 Sep-87 Sep-90 Sep-93 Sep-96 Sep-99 

Coolungoolun 93 Tong Bong 176 Holy Plains 177 Denison 58 Sale 13 

A pproximate Extent of G ippsland Basin

Drawdown/subsidence 

A hard lesson: Hurricane Katrina 


Threats to Groundwater 


Pollution 


Pollution 


When rivers become rubbish 

dumps 


River sand mining 


Untreated effluents 

from livestock farms

Management of Groundwater 

� Monitoring 

� Water level 

� Quality 

�� Recharge 

� Sustainable Yields 

� Saline water intrusion 

� Surface groundwater interaction 

� Conceptualisation 

� Mapping of regional trans boundary aquifers, recharge 

zones 



� Groundwater Management Plans 

� Local and Regional Models 

� Protection of recharge zones 

�� Quality 

� Volume 

� Risk Assessment Strategies 

� Pollution 

� Water Supply 



� Licensing 

� Extraction Licenses (Volumes) 

� Bore construction licenses and guidelines 

�� Aquifer interference licence 

� Groundwater / surface water management areas 

� Strategic Land Use Policies 

� Forward Planning 


Groundwater and the Future 

� As surface water becomes more contaminated increasing 

reliance on groundwater 

� Stronger Management 

� Governments 

� Community 

� Industry 

� Social License 

� Surface and Groundwater managed as one 

� Increasing Conflict 

� Domestic 

� International 



More surveillance 

May 2011 New York Times 

IRVINE, Calif. — Scientists have been using small variations in the Earth’s 

gravity to identify trouble spots around the globe where people are making 

unsustainable demands on groundwater, one of the planet’s main sources of 

fresh water. 

They found problems in places as disparate as North Africa, northern India, 

northeastern China and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley in California, 

heartland of that state’s $30 billion agricultural industry. 



Transboundary Aquifers in the Middle East: 

� Syria, Jordan and the Yarmuk basin 

� Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the large Disi basin 



Iraq has oil, 

we have water. 

� “Let them drink their Oil” 

Popular Turkish saying 


Thank you for your 

attention 

Useful Websites 

http://www.iah.org/ 

http://water.usgs.gov/ogw/ 

http://www.epa.gov/ 

http://www.whymap.org

Dr Jürgen Schaeffer SRK Consulting Melbourne Australia

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