A scientific collaboration between the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities; Bureau of Meteorology; CSIRO Water for a Healthy Country Flagship; and Geoscience Australia

BIOREGIONAL ASSESSMENTS

Providing scientific water resource information associated with coal seam gas and large coal mines

Lake Eyre Bioregional Assessment Galilee subregion Overview Kriton Glenn PhD, Geoscience Australia 5th Galilee Basin Coal & Energy Conference

Bioregional Assessments overview

•  Collaboration – GA – CSIRO – BoM – funded by Department of Environment

•  Scientific analysis – provides baseline information on ecology, hydrology, geology & hydrogeology of a bioregion to assist advice to the minister.

•  Assessment of potential direct, indirect & cumulative impacts of CSG and coal mining developments on water resources

•  Consistent (generic) investigative approach – BRAM

Bioregional Assessments •  potential impacts of CSG and coal mining developments

on water resources. • measurable relationship for connectivity between a

resource and the water dependent asset

Bioregional assessments

Product No Description

1 Contextual report

2 Asset and receptor register

3 CSG and coal resource assessment

4 Conceptual Model of Causal Pathways (connectivity) 5 Statistical analysis and interpretation report (data processing and

interpretation) 6 Water balance, numerical/analytical groundwater models

7 Report of impacts on receptors

8 Risk analysis report

9 Summary of bioregional assessment findings

The distribution of the Bioregional Assessment areas

LEB / Galilee Basin Overview

Project Contributors • Galilee and Cooper bioregional assessments

-  Geoscience Australia, CSIRO, BOM, OWS •  Arckaringa and Pedirka bioregional assessments

-  DEWNR groundwater Knowledge projects (SA) -  Geoscience Australia, CSIRO, BOM, OWS

Other significant projects – whole of LEB catchment •  LEB rivers assessment

- DEWNR (Stage 1 completed june 13) •  LEB Springs assessment - QLD agencies and DEWNR (commenced Oct 13)

LEB Subregions •  Primarily sedimentary basins that were active during Late

Carboniferous – Mid Triassic (320-220 million years ago)

•  Galilee – Only eastern margin outcrops, rest under cover (up to 1 km) Coal/CSG Targets - Aramac Coal Measures, Betts Ck Beds, Bandanna

•  Cooper – Doesn’t outcrop (Can be > 1km cover)

CSG Target – Patchawarra & Toolachee •  Arckaringa – Western Margin outcrops

Coal/?CSG Target – Toondina Fm, (low rank coals)

•  Pedirka – minimal outcrop, generally > 400m cover CSG Target – Purni Fm

•  Main Cover sequence – Great Artesian (Eromanga) Basin (note: coal resources also identified in Winton Fm)

Regional Schematic cross Section

Galilee

Cooper

Pedirka

Galilee Subregion

•  Includes headwaters of

6 surface water catchments.

Progress so far •  Commenced July 2013

•  Activities •  Contextual report (summary of current knowledge of geology,

hydrogeology, hydrology, ecology, geography) •  Commenced data compilation and analysis •  Water Assets List for subregion •  Commenced resources assessment development component of BA

Structures and Depositional centres

•  Identification of major

structures and depocentres

stratigraphic column

•  Compiled for whole of Galilee

subregion in a standardised format •  Includes Galilee, Eromanga

Basins and Cenozoic stratigraphy •  Galilee stratigraphy split into 3

major regions to reflect local stratigraphic variations

Eromanga Basin

Galilee Basin

Cenozoic

Regional potentiometric Surfaces Cretaceous aquifers: E.g. Cadna-owie Formation - Hooray Sandstone -  Initial first pass shown

here based on GBOF datasets,

-  Further analysis with additional data to follow.

shallow water table mapping

•  For Eromanga only at the moment.

•  Further work to follow •  Dark colours

(topographical higher)

Potential for inter-aquifer leakage

•  Potential for connectivity between Eromanga Basin and underlying Galilee

Some Water Assets and Potential developments

•  Using information from different

disciplines to assess potential for impacts and risks to water assets from developments on a local and regional (cumulative) scale

•  Far more water related assets in subregion

Benefits to Industry Benefits include •  Transparent regional Baseline information •  A framework or risk analysis and impacts •  Preliminary work on cumulative impacts How can industry help? •  Discussion with BA on geological setting,

proposed developments & data availability

Kriton Glenn PhD Hydrogeology and Energy Section Leader Environmental Geoscience Division GEOSCIENCE AUSTRALIA Phone: +61 2 6249 9379 Fax: +61 2 6249 9999 Email: Kriton.Glenn@ga.gov.au Web: www.ga.gov.au

BRAM web address www.environment.gov.au/coal-seam-gas-mining/bioregional-assessments.html

Product list

Work flow / decision tree