ABSTRACT
The Great Artesian Basin, Australia’s largest groundwater resource, is a multi-layered confined aquifer system, with artesian aquifers in Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous continental quartzose sandstones. It underlies three States and one Territory within Australia’s Rangelands with low rainfall in arid and semi-arid regions. Pastoral activity, homestead, town water supplies, mining and petroleum ventures are all totally dependent on artesian groundwater from the basin. State Government investigations and legislation dominated during the period from the 1890s to 1960s, but Commonwealth Government funding and scientific investigations assisted since the 1960s. The States have the primary constitutional powers and responsibilities for land and water resources management under the Federal Australian Constitution. State (and Territory) Water Acts vest groundwater (and surface water) resources in the Crown, and provide for rights in water, control and management of works with respect to water conservation and protection. All artesian (flowing) bores, and sub-artesian (non-flowing) bores are required to be licensed, and construction and purpose of the bore are specified, as well as use, volumetric allocation and distribution works. Bores are to be constructed by suitably licensed (artesian) drillers. Bore owners are responsible for the maintenance of all bores, including casing, headworks and distribution networks. Combined Commonwealth and State projects and funding since 1989 for rehabilitation of bores alleviates the serious drawdown of artesian pressures. The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the EPBC Act) is the Australian Government’s central piece of environmental legislation. It provides a legal framework to protect and manage nationally and internationally important flora, fauna, ecological communities (groundwater dependent ecosystems) and heritage places, defined in the EPBC Act as matters of national environmental significance, and is applicable to the Great Artesian Basin area.
