Bureau releases one-stop shop for national groundwater information

03/11/2015

The Bureau of Meteorology today released a centralised access point for national information on Australia's groundwater resources.

Deputy Director Environment and Research Graham Hawke unveiled the Groundwater Information Suite during his keynote speech at the Australian Groundwater Conference in Canberra.

The Suite comprises four products: the Australian Groundwater Insight, the Australian Groundwater Explorer, the Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems Atlas and the National Groundwater Information System.

The Insight is a new web product that interprets groundwater information for non-technical users.

The Explorer has been updated with easier access to information for approximately 800,000 bores across Australia and an improved search function.

The Atlas provides information of the location and characteristics of ecosystems that depend on groundwater.

The System is a database which is the foundation of the Suite.

The four products have been developed to be complementary, but quite different in terms of the type of data they provide, target audience and delivery mechanism.

“One third of Australia's water is sourced from groundwater, making this natural resource one of our most significant," said Mr Hawke.

"Obtaining a national perspective on groundwater information has traditionally been challenging due to the distributed nature of groundwater management in Australia.

"Private industry, federal government and the public now have access to comprehensive, nationally consistent groundwater data, information and analysis in one place."

“This improved access to national groundwater information will support a range of groundwater management and resource issues.”

As part of the Improving Water Information Programme, the Bureau aggregates, standardises, analyses and distributes national groundwater data.

The Groundwater Information Suite is available on the Bureau’s website.