Using local knowledge to improve understanding of groundwater supplies in parts of arid South Australia

Using local knowledge to improve understanding of groundwater supplies in parts of arid South Australia Journal Article

GeoJournal

• Author(s): Ian Clark, Lynn Brake
• Published: 2009
• Volume: 74
• Edition: 20 January 2009

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Abstract: Developing a good working knowledge of water in the landscape and the connectivity between surface and groundwater is germane to a resilient sustainable water supply to sustain human activities and a healthy environment, particularly in the drier parts of Australia. This paper presents a case study in the semi-arid Flinders Ranges of South Australia in which eliciting local knowledge from landholders was a key element in mapping surface and groundwater and investigating the connectivity between water resources. Local landholders provided a vital source of information to augment the limited scientific data initially available on groundwater resources. Groundwater recharge in the region comes from local rainfall onto individual unconnected groundwater catchments. In most of the region water supply seems to have been maintained over the longer term but there are a number of sites where former active springs are now dry or much reduced in size and water supplies from bores have substantially changed in quantity and quality. The involvement of landholders in the investigation of water resources encouraged them to consider the resource context of their stock watering points and incorporate more science into their understanding of the water resources that they rely on. This stimulated interest in investigating more about local water resources and changes in water management practices.

• Urls: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10708-008-9236-7