Groundwater and the environment

Diverse subsurface community of fauna that inhabit the pore spaces and voids of groundwater environments, termed ‘stygofauna'. Stygofauna include a broad range of organisms which include ‘macro’ invertebrates and vertebrates that can be seen with the naked eye, ‘micro’ organisms termed ‘meiofauna’ (invertebrates that can only be seen with a microscope) and bacteria (biofilm) communities. They have many values, including the following: some are rare or unique; the ecosystems surviving in aquifers and caves are amongst the oldest surviving on earth; and they have water quality benefits, biodiversity value and add to the ecological diversity in a region.

These are cavities in rock that act as a conduit for water flow between input points, such as stream sinks, and output points, such as springs or seeps. A karst is a specialised form of cave that are formed by the greater solubility of certain rocks in water. Most karsts form commonly in limestone and other carbonates such as dolomite. However, they can also form in evaporites such as gypsum and halite, silicates such as sandstone and quartzites, and in some basalts and granites. Caves in general can form in many types of rock through processes other than solution. All can support aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.

Are streams supported by groundwater discharge or spring fed? It is these that sustain flows in many streams during dry times. Understanding the interactions between groundwater and surface water is fundamental to understanding and managing the chemical and biological characteristics of streams throughout their lengths. River base flow ecosystems include a combination of subsurface and surface ecosystems depending on the structure of the river bed sediments. Groundwater base flow in sand-bed and gravel-bed rivers support both riparian vegetation and in-stream macrophyte communities, surface water aquatic invertebrate communities, and a specialised community of invertebrates (termed hyporheos) that exist below the river bed / substrate surface in the hyporheic zone.

Phreatophytes do not rely on the surface expression of water for survival but depend on the subsurface presence of groundwater, often accessed via the capillary fringe (i.e. the subsurface water just above the water table that is not completely saturated). Phreatophytes include both deep and/or shallow rooted vegetation communities. Forests and woodlands can rely on groundwater for survival, particularly in areas of shallow groundwater. The degree of groundwater dependence can vary, the literature indicating seasonal variability in both the quantity of groundwater used and the relative importance of groundwater as a water source.

Wetland ecosystems can depend on groundwater to keep them seasonally waterlogged or flooded e.g. paperbark swamp forests and woodlands, swamp sclerophyll forests and woodlands, swamp scrubs and heaths, swamp shrublands, sedgelands and mound springs ecosystems. Groundwater dependent wetlands exist at the boundary between surface and groundwater systems. They facilitate the flow of water between the groundwater system and the surface-water system. Groundwater dependent wetlands can be found in the mountains, on the plateaus and high plains, in river valleys and in coastal lowlands.

The Great Artesian Basin springs project seeks to ground-truth springs in the NSW extent of the Basin and collect hydrogeological and ecological data. The results will increase our knowledge of the Great Artesian Basin and its springs and therefore help improve management of the Basin.

The Great Artesian Basin is one of the largest underground freshwater resources in the world.

Groundwater discharges naturally from the Great Artesian Basin into springs, lakes, rivers and wetlands. Most discharge areas, such as springs, are found along the basin’s perimeter where water is closer to the surface. Great Artesian Basin springs can support endangered ecological communities and species, known as groundwater dependent ecosystems. GAB springs are listed under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. GAB springs are also listed for protection under the Water Sharing Plan for the NSW Great Artesian Basin Groundwater Sources 2020.The Great Artesian Basin springs project surveys springs fed by groundwater sources, located within the NSW extent of the Basin.

The Great Artesian Basin springs project was initiated to inform the remake of the Great Artesian Basin water sharing plan and to support the documentation of recovering artesian pressure on springs, an offshoot of the Great Artesian Basin Sustainability Initiative (1999-2017) and the Cap and Pipe the Bores programs. The project also aligns with the guiding principles of the Commonwealth Great Artesian Basin Strategic Management Plan 2018. The project was undertaken at the same time as the first round of bore inventory. The inventory informs the program of work of the Great Artesian Basin Sustainability Initiative and documents the outcome of the initiative.

We highly value landholders contribution, knowledge shared with us and the relationships formed during the field work stage of the project.

Hydrogeological and ecological data collected during the project are summarised in the Hydrogeology and ecology survey report (PDF. 5.7MB). The report defines the surveys and provides a summary of the results, then documents each of the springs visited. The survey outcomes are two fold.

• It validates historical knowledge on the presence or absence of springs and provides information on the condition of the springs at the time of the survey.
• It also provides a baseline dataset so we can monitor changes over time and undertake additional studies to refine the understanding of the springs and support the management of the springs.

Increased knowledge and understanding of the Basin and its springs helps us to better manage the Great Artesian Basin. The data collected was used to build an understanding on the mechanism of each of the springs by defining the source of groundwater supporting the spring where possible.  The NSW GAB Springs Conceptualisation Report (PDF. 9.3MB) uses several lines of approach. Some of the result have a high level of confidence, other results come with more uncertainty. This work will be used to scope the next round of GAB spring field work and define more adapted management measures for the protection of the GAB springs.

Many estuarine and near-shore marine systems depend on groundwater discharges to provide suitable habitats for a diverse group of flora and fauna e.g. coastal lakes, mangroves, saltmarshes and seagrass beds. They can be separated from coastal wetlands by the reliance on seawater and tidal influences and groundwater discharge may be in the form of direct off-shore discharge zones called ‘Wonky Holes’, diffuse discharge through sandbeds or baseflow into streams that discharge to the ocean.

Conceptual GDE model – the following diagram shows where the various types of GDEs are located in the landscape for inland and the coast.

Download a larger diagram of the Groundwater Dependent Ecosystem model (JPG, 2549.47 KB)

The degree and nature of groundwater dependence will influence how GDEs are affected by changes in the quality and quantity of groundwater systems. The dependence on groundwater can be variable over time, often increasing during droughts, or reducing when wetter conditions prevail. Furthermore, species and communities that require permanently wet conditions, particularly in arid and semi-arid areas, are more likely to be groundwater dependent than those tolerant of a regular cycle of wetting and drying. This dependency on groundwater is why ecological processes in GDEs may be threatened by the regular extraction of groundwater and changes in land use or management.

To improve the way GDEs are managed, it is important to understand where they are located, as well as their level of groundwater dependence. To increase this understanding, a mapping project has been completed that identifies vegetation communities that are likely to be groundwater dependent.

• High probability GDE method report (PDF.  8.8MB)

Water sharing plans include maps of these high priority vegetation GDEs. The plans contain distance rules that restrict where new groundwater works may be located to minimise the risk of groundwater extraction impacting these vegetation GDEs.

Vegetation GDEs across 29 groundwater sources and the alluvial portions of 398 unregulated and alluvial water sources are confirmed groundwater dependent. These confirmed vegetation GDEs are considered when assessing applications for new groundwater works and dealings in these groundwater sources.

In 5 groundwater sources, distance restrictions from vegetation GDEs do not apply as these groundwater sources are buried below other groundwater sources and vegetation is unable to access groundwater due to its depth.

The remaining 100 groundwater sources, need to be assessed on a case–by-case basis on their specific circumstances, as approval or permanent dealing applications are assessed.

For more information on how we confirm the high probability of groundwater dependence for vegetation GDEs read the factsheet

• Confirming groundwater dependency of GDEs fact sheet (PDF.  262KB)

The High Priority Vegetation GDE maps are currently available as pdf files. These show indicative locations. These files can be found by clicking on the relevant region - Water sharing plan status | Water (nsw.gov.au).

Our aim is to make spatial information on high priority vegetation GDEs publicly available. This will take time to achieve, so solutions will be implemented in stages.

In the interim, GDE spatial data is available for download via the Bureau of Meteorology Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems Atlas and the NSW SEED Portal, and can be viewed via the department's spatial portal.

The High Priority GDE vegetation data is a subset of the GDE HEVAE data. If you download the data from the NSW SEED Portal you will see an attribute called WSP_Priority. The High Priority GDE vegetation is where the WSP_Priority attribute is ‘High Priority’. GDE HEVAE was split up into study areas for processing, so you will need to ensure you have the right datasets for your area of interest. This data doesn’t yet capture if a vegetation GDE is confirmed to have a high probability of groundwater dependence.

As the protection of GDEs in water sharing plans needs to be balanced with the demands of licenced water users, protection is restricted to high priority GDEs. By assigning an ecological value to GDEs, management needs can then be prioritised. The approach used to value individual GDEs adopted by NSW is the high ecological value aquatic ecosystem (HEVAE) framework.

The department's Water Group developed the GDE Ecological Value (HEVAE) spatial database using recorded and predicted spatial data to provide weighted scores for each attribute associated with four HEVAE criteria (distinctiveness, diversity, naturalness and vital habitat). The “representativeness” criteria was not applied to the dataset due to insufficient data being available. The Overall GDE Ecological Value (HEVAE) diagram (JPG, 213.93 KB) summarises the data used for each of the HEVAE criteria. The combined scores categorise the ecological value of each groundwater dependent vegetation community from very high to very low. Very high and high value GDE’s are considered high priority in water sharing plans.

• Dabovic, J. et al. (2019) “A new approach to prioritising groundwater dependent vegetation communities to inform groundwater management in New South Wales, Australia” CSIRO PUBLISHING Australian Journal of Botany, 2019, 67, 397–413.

The GDE HEVAE dataset is available for download via the NSW SEED Portal.

Water quantity

Changes in water quantity, either by the decrease in groundwater levels through extraction to meet the needs of agriculture or industry, or increases in groundwater levels through land clearing are threats to GDEs. Either lowering or increasing groundwater levels has the potential to cause a change in GDE community structure.

Water quality

Urban, commercial and tourist developments as well as intensive agricultural land use can adversely affect groundwater quality and, therefore, the ecosystems that depend on that groundwater. Changes in water quality caused by the following can occur: nutrients from fertilisers and septic tank effluent, salt intrusion, agricultural pesticides, metals and hydrocarbons from commercial and urban land uses (e.g. leakage from underground fuel tanks, can contaminate groundwater). Exposure to such contaminants can pose a direct short and long term threat to the ecology of GDEs.