Sustainable Groundwater Management through Collaborative Local Scale Monitoring

Groundwater depletions in response to climate change and unsustainable extraction of groundwater are a global issue. When coupled with limited groundwater monitoring, particularly in mountainous areas, effective management of groundwater resources becomes particularly challenging. Governments typically play the lead role in groundwater monitoring and management. Additionally, communities who rely on groundwater are often interested to understand the condition of the water resource that they rely on. Strong collaborations between universities, communities and government can provide critical monitoring data to inform sustainable groundwater management. This case study assessed the value of a collaborative, university led monitoring approach to monitor groundwater resources in a mountainous environment in Queensland, Australia. Groundwater here is relied upon for domestic use but no existing ongoing water resource monitoring programs were in place. The objectives of this collaborative monitoring were to: (1) respond to community concerns about groundwater resources by setting up a groundwater monitoring network; (2) achieve an improved understanding of groundwater level responses to rainfall and pumping; (3) assess groundwater resource condition under changing climatic conditions; and (4) inform science to water policy translation. The monitoring project included: installing pressure transducers in privately owned bores, monitoring groundwater levels over six years, investigating the causes for temporal trends in groundwater levels, monitoring water quality trends, and, providing community and government briefings. Through engagement with key stakeholders, the results from this monitoring were used to inform water policy in the region. The case study concluded that effective science-water policy translation is dependant on: the longevity of monitoring, incorporating wet and dry periods; support from key stakeholders, including community, researchers, and government; and both the frequency and timing of updates to key stakeholders. The collaborative, community-based monitoring approach is now being extended to a nearby mountainous region, with the lessons learned in this case study informing improvements in the engagement and reporting approach.