Science, Technology and Engineering

Environmental Geoscience

Honours Projects

Hydrogeology and hydrogeochemistry of the upper Campaspe deep lead

Sharon Honicke

Supervisor: Dr John Webb

In recent years, persistent drought conditions across Victoria have lead to the increased demand of extracting groundwater for agricultural and personal uses. In instances where aquifers have been sufficiently quantified, allocation and development of the groundwater resource can be carried out in a sustainable manner. However, in regions in which little is known about the groundwater resource in which individuals wish to extract from, over allocation can lead to the overdevelopment of the aquifer and can compound the water issues already faced by many rural Victorians. Therefore, characterization of a potential source of groundwater for human use is essential to ensure that the resource can be utilized for future uses.

The lower reaches of the Campaspe Deep Lead near Shepparton is heavily utilized for irrigation needs and yields large volumes of water that is of very good quality. Much is known about this section of the aquifer. However, little information has been gathered on the upper reaches of this aquifer. Increasing interest in the development of this section of the Campaspe Deep Lead has prompted the investigation of questions such as:

1. What is the main recharge mechanism to the Campaspe Deep Lead in this area?
2. What is the hydraulic relationship of the Campaspe Deep Lead to the rivers along this reach?
3. To what relative degree are the recent declines in pressure due to climate / low flow and groundwater (irrigation) pumping?
4. What sustainable resource use potential exists along this mostly underdeveloped part of the Campaspe Deep Lead?

The project is co-supervised by Mark Reid from the Department of Primary Industries, Bendigo, with the support of Hyder Consulting.