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Flooded observation bores get pumped out
25 January, 2012
The Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) has completed the first stage of repair works to 371 bores impacted by last year’s floods in the Loddon, Avoca, Campaspe, Goulburn, Wimmera and Murray catchments.
DSE’s Groundwater Monitoring and Reporting Manager, Jill McNamara said the repairs were important for maintaining the integrity of Victoria’s groundwater data.
“The first stage of returning the flood damaged bores back to service involved pumping out flood water that had inundated the monitoring bores and led to inaccurate groundwater level readings,” Ms McNamara said.
“With 371 of the 2,500 bores in the network out of action, it’s important that these repairs are completed so we can regain access to groundwater data for affected areas.
“Groundwater monitoring from the State Observation Bore Network provides DSE and other stakeholders with accurate information about the condition of groundwater resources.
“More than 300 bores were inundated with floodwater through the headworks which affected the groundwater levels recorded and provided false high readings of groundwater levels in some locations.
“As these levels are used to establish the availability of the resource and determine seasonal allocations for groundwater users, it is crucial that we have reliable readings that truly reflect the state of the aquifer.”
“Regular, accurate readings are also important for monitoring declining or rising trends in aquifers.
“We have clear data that showed the declining trend in many aquifers during the drought and we are looking forward to seeing the impact of the past 12 months of wetter weather, which included the worst floods in Victoria’s history.”
Pumping was carried out from September 2011 to December 2011 to remove floodwaters from inundated bores. Following this, samples were taken to confirm the water remaining was groundwater.
The next stage of works involves:
- stabilisation and repairs where the ground surface has been undermined by floodwaters and has caused slumping around the bore or the loosening of headworks.
- decommissioning of a small number of bores where floodwaters have caused sediment build up and blockages.
Stage 2 of the works will begin in February, with all flood recovery works to be completed by June 2012.
See pictures of the repair works on the State Observation Bore Network on Flickr (opens in new page).
