Priorities
The G-MW R&D program is looking to generate innovative ideas, mitigate risk and address knowledge gaps. Management have agreed on the following five investment priorities for the 2009/2010 financial year :
What is the future of irrigation?
- What will be the type of agriculture undertaken in North East Victoria if current water shortage becomes permanent conditions or climate predictions of lower runoff materialise e.g. irrigated pasture, horticulture, opportunistic, intensive?
- What are the likely services G-MW will need to provide based upon potential changes in type of agriculture being undertaken in the region and changes to the region's socio-economic profile? Will G-MW's primary business remain the same, will it be primarily management of bulk water storages or will be primarily management of water delivery for irrigation purposes?
- What are the likely increases in business energy costs and how will this impact upon the viability of heavy water reliance businesses and their capacity to afford water?
- What is the future role of G-MW in setting water tariffs based upon permanent low water availability conditions?
- What is the relevance and applicability of tariffs and cost recovery approaches to price setting?
- What are the other sources of water that can be accessed / managed?
- Is there potential for rural desalination of brackish aquifers? Can the cost of rural desalination be justified given the potential significant costs of taking brackish water to agricultural salinity standards as opposed to seawater and drinking water standards?
- What are the likely water demand cycles in the future?
- What is the likely extent of change in water demand cycles and the pattern that the cycle will take and how appropriate is our current water delivery infrastructure to responding to those water demand cycles e.g. shift from low flow releases to high flow release, change in length of irrigation season - more autumn and spring watering?
- What are appropriate bulk water storage surveillance/monitoring regimes given extended and/or permanent low water volumes?
- Will bulk water entitlements be relevant in the future?
- What will be an appropriate approach to water allocation in the future that considers the allocation of all regional water resources including on-farm?
- What is the future of open channel water delivery?
- Based upon likelihood of low water availability in the future what changes should be made to the management of unregulated rivers and streams, what is the justification for the change and when should the changes occur?
- What is an appropriate model, approach or business process that can be used to develop short term/annual water demand and resource planning that is based upon an understanding of customer needs and environmental needs?
- What approaches can be used to better understand on farm water demand?
Surface Water and Ground Water Interaction
Research project 1 - Groundwater and surface water interaction in the Mid-Loddon Groundwater Management area
Objective
The purpose of the project is to quantify the groundwater and surface water interactions in the Mid-Loddon Groundwater Management Area.
Background
Groundwater and surface water are interconnected and interchangeable resources in many regions of Australia. This connectivity can have significant implications for both water availability and quality, and presents major challenges for water managers and policy makers. Independent management of groundwater and surface water means that there is a risk of allocating the same water twice. Understanding the connectivity between surface water and groundwater is critical if Australia's water resources are to be sustainably managed.
Increasing demand for water and a decline in the availability of surface water has seen significant growth in groundwater extraction in the Mid-Loddon Groundwater Management Area. Goulburn-Murray Water (G-MW) recently developed the Mid-Loddon Groundwater Management Area Local Management Rules. Preliminary investigations were undertaken as part of the development of the rules to better understand the relationship between groundwater and surface water. A recommendation form the development of the rules was that further work be undertaken to more accurately quantify the interaction.
Research project 2 - Groundwater and surface water interaction in the Katunga Water Supply Protection Area
Objective
The purpose of the project is to characterise interaction ‘hotspots' between groundwater and the River Murray in the Katunga Water Supply Protection Area (WSPA).
Background
Groundwater and surface water are interconnected and water resources are increasingly managed with recognition of this interconnectedness in many regions of Australia.
This connectivity can have significant implications for both water availability and quality, and presents major challenges for water managers and policy makers; particularly in regions where there is intensive groundwater use and aquifer decline.
There has been significant demand for deep lead groundwater for irrigation in the Murray Valley (in the region around Cobram and Numurkah), which is managed within the Katunga Water Supply Protection Area; particularly since the late 1990s. Increased groundwater use, over 12 years of below average rainfall and a significant reduction in the availability of regulated surface water supplies has seen continued decline in deep lead groundwater pressures across the region.
A groundwater management plan has been in place in the Katunga WSPA since 2006 and a key issue identified in the plan (as requiring further understanding) is the nature of interaction between the deep lead aquifer and the River Murray. Some hydrogeological cross-sections of the Katunga deep lead aquifer were undertaken by Reid and Cherry (2006) to assist in determining where direct interaction with the River Murray may be occurring.
This work helped to inform some precautionary prescriptions in the 2006 Katunga WSPA Groundwater Management Plan, however more work is needed to investigate and characterise interaction ‘hotspots'. This work will be important in informing an upcoming review of the Katunga WSPA Groundwater Management Plan.
Research project 3 - Lag times for impacts of groundwater pumping on stream flows in the Lower Ovens Groundwater Management Area
Objective
The purpose of the project is to quantify the lag times for groundwater extraction in the unconsolidated sediments impacting on the rivers of the Lower Ovens Groundwater Management Area.
Background
Groundwater and surface water are interconnected and interchangeable resources in many regions of Australia. This connectivity can have significant implications for both water availability and quality, and presents major challenges for water managers and policy makers. Independent management of groundwater and surface water means that there is a risk of allocating the same water twice. Understanding the connectivity between surface water and groundwater is critical if Australia's water resources are to be sustainably managed.
An integrated groundwater and surface water conceptual and numerical model of the Ovens Valley has been developed to investigate the movement of water through the catchment. A high level of interaction between the aquifers and the river has been established. This project would build on the results of the research to focus on smaller scale interactions to confirm and investigate the lag times for impacts of groundwater pumping on river flow from individual bores at different distances from the river and different aquifers. It is envisaged that investigations would be field based and utilise pumping tests or monitoring of existing pumping bores and the groundwater monitoring network.
Research project 4 - Investigate the influence of groundwater pumping in fractured rock aquifers on streams and springs in highland areas.
Objective
To develop a methodology for water resource managers to consider the impacts of pumping from fractured rock aquifers on springs and rivers in Victoria's North East highland areas.
Background
Groundwater pumping in fractured rock aquifers can impact on flows in streams and springs in highland areas. Annual fluctuations in groundwater levels in the fractured rock aquifers due to variations in rainfall recharge can also impact on flows in the streams and springs.
Water resource managers need a method so that they can differentiate the impacts of groundwater pumping on groundwater levels from natural variation. Also a method for determine possible draw down influences of individual bores is required so that resource manages can evaluate possible impacts of groundwater pumping at individual sites.
Other potential research project areas
There are several other potential research areas within the Ovens, Kiewa, Goulburn, Loddon and Campaspe catchment; please enquire further if interested. For example:
Kiewa Valley
- What is the potential influence of groundwater extraction (at full PCV of 6100ML) on groundwater levels in the fractured rock and alluvial aquifers of the Kiewa Valley, under reduced rainfall climatic scenarios?
- What are the interactions between the deep fractured rock aquifers of the Kiewa Valley and the Kiewa River and tributaries? What level of groundwater extraction would start to significantly reduce stream flows?
Lower Ovens Valley.
- At what distance from the Ovens River does pumping from the shallow alluvial aquifers (Laceby aquifer) not source more than 50% of its water from the Ovens River?
Lower Campaspe Deep Lead
- What losses are occurring from Campaspe River to the Campaspe Deep lead under various climate scenarios?
Spring Hill Water Supply Protection Area and Kinglake Groundwater Management Area
- What are the impacts of declining groundwater levels on stream flows in upland fractured rock environment?
- Case studies in the Spring Hill and Kinglake areas would investigate the reduction in stream flow over recent years with respect to declining groundwater levels and investigate groundwater flow paths in the regolith
How do we ensure a healthy environment?
- If there is a greater proliferation of new pests, aquatic pathogens what new chemicals may be required to address this and what may be the impact of using these chemicals upon water supplied to customers by G-MW?
- How can herbicide residues in water supplied to customers, including the environmentbe managed e.g. can this be avoided, can this be treated to reduce risks? Returning of treated wastewater to waterwayscould result in more heavy metals, endocrine disrupting chemicals and biocides in the water supplied to customers, including the environment(this issue is likely to become more relevant if UWAs are able to obtain credit for returning their treated wastewater to waterways).
- What information should G-MW provide to its customer regarding the quality of water being supplied to them and what impact will this have upon future water quality monitoring regimes?
- How should G-MW demonstrate to regulators, customers and the wider regions that G-MW are appropriately managing the impacts of their activities on water quality? This includes:
- Use of chemicalsin and around water
- Use of natural carriers that are also Ramsar listed wetlands (this will become more challenging under drier conditions and when G-MW are looking for water savings)
- Changing release patterns from our storages and implications for downstream environmental values
- How loss of human and animal life may be avoided if channels are being lined removing "natural stabilisers" e.g. mud channel sides used by human and animals to enter and exit channels?
Develop people and capabilities
- How does G-MW attract and retain staff in the future based upon likely change in traditional water authority service delivery?
- What will be the impact upon current staff in terms of changing customer demands?
- How will these impacts be managed?
- What are the people capabilities required of future G-MW personnel and can people with these types of capabilities be attracted to work for G-MW in regional Victoria?
- What type of flexible working arrangements with staff will be required in the future?
- What is the learning's from the recent projects which have resulted in significant internal organisational change e.g. modernisation? How has G-MW responded to the fast paced nature of these projects and what can be learnt from these experiences that can be applied to future projects? Other than G-MW, which other stakeholders have been impacted by the "fast paced" nature of these projects and were impacts beneficial or adverse?
- How can these learning's be used to improve G-MW management of human capital, especially in the areas of knowledge retention?
- What strategies, techniques and approaches should G-MW be considering and implementing to capture and retain the knowledge of long term employees who are approaching retirement?
- What strategies, techniques and approaches should be adopted by G-MW to socialise new knowledge into the organisation which is being created from the extensive amount of research currently underway?
Mini Hydro
- What is the future potential to G-MW in relation to investing in Mini Hydro under a public private partnership?
- What are the best options for G-MW to use Mini Hydro to maximise carbon offsetting capabilities and become carbon neutral by 2050?
- Can G-MW get efficient outcomes from Mini Hydro using assets identified in the Greenhouse Opportunity Assessment?
- What options does G-MW have in relation to harnessing and using energy to power on site pump stations/off site use/storage/and sale of energy generated?
- What are the best designs for mini hydro available to G-MW to achieve maximum energy output and best value for money? What are the maintenance, operations and lifetime costs?
- What are the risks to G-MW in relation to the establishment of a mini hydro scheme?
