This course addresses the fundamentals of groundwater including local and global water balances, types of aquifers, and the interaction of surfacewater and groundwater.

Groundwater Essentials topics include:

• How important is groundwater to us?
  • Global and local water balances
• Where do we find groundwater?
  • Introduction to Hydrogeology and Aquifers
• How do we assess our resource?
  • How do we access groundwater, how is it stored and how does it move, aquifer testing and estimation using pumping tests, monitoring groundwater and Analysis of groundwater data
• Groundwater-Surface water Interactions.
  • What are the connections, ecosystem dependence on GW & SW, issues of double-dipping
• Land use impacts – intro to chemistry, quality, contamination.
  • Groundwater chemistry and water quality, pollution and remediation of groundwater
• Managing groundwater – quantity focus.
  • Allocate, licence and manage our resources to achieve sustainability
• Protecting groundwater – quality focus.
  • Protect our resources to avoid contamination to assure sustainability
• Case Studies and Tutorials

Uncontrolled artesian bore. Under the Great Artesian Basin Sustainability Initiative, about $140 million over 15 years (1999–2014) has been invested to repair and replace open bore drains with piped systems.