Oral Presentation NCGRT/IAH Australasian Groundwater Conference 2019

How to make a quantum leap for the hydrogeological profession in Australia – the case for groundwater guidelines and codes of practice (24)

Richard Evans 1
  1. Jacobs, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Groundwater science in Australia represents a relatively young and immature profession. Relative to other scientific and engineering disciplines, the science of hydrogeology is still rapidly evolving.   Individual hydrogeologists frequently undertake field testing, data analysis and interpretation activities using their own approach or that of the organisation in which they work. This often results in highly variable quality and poorly defined products. No minimum standard, code of practice or technical guidance exists for many activities which the hydrogeological profession in Australia undertakes. Consequently, we are sometimes seen by other technical disciplines (e.g. engineering) as being unprofessional and technically weak. It is proposed that an increased focus on the development of Groundwater Guidelines and Codes of Practice will help to address this deficiency and, in time, move the whole profession to a new level of rigour. Much of what we do does not lend itself to tightly defined standards and this is not generally proposed. Rather, the almost infinite hydrogeological variability in which we work will be better served by less formal guidelines. Many such guidelines already exist at the local and state scale, but there is no National consensus on their content, with some notable exceptions, e.g. the Australian Groundwater Modelling Guidelines. Some suggested topics where new guidelines would be helpful are:

Data collection and field testing methods:

  1. Groundwater level measurement and correction methods.
  2. Slug and packer test design, implementation and interpretation.
  3. Surface water groundwater interaction investigations.

Analysis and planning methods:

  1. Design groundwater levels for civil engineering design and construction.
  2. Application of climate change science to groundwater resource management planning.
  3. Minimum requirements for groundwater resource management plans.
  4. Economic analysis methods for groundwater development and MAR schemes.

Organisational options to achieve this goal are presented.