Groundwater investigations

The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation investigates, assesses and monitors these precious resources to support the sustainable and productive use of groundwater while protecting the environment.

We have completed more than 25 groundwater investigations since 2005. A wide range of organisations and industries – including the state and federal governments, local councils, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, construction, universities and local communities use the information we gather.

What the groundwater investigations tell us

We establish monitoring networks and collect groundwater information through a coordinated, prioritised and statewide approach. The information we collect helps balance the state’s water use while protecting important wetlands and rivers.

Both the information from our groundwater investigations and ongoing monitoring underpin our water resource management decisions by improving our understanding of:

• where groundwater occurs, and how much is there
• the quality of groundwater
• how groundwater supports environmental, social and cultural values
• how much and where to take groundwater while sustaining associated values.

What we do

To collect information about the state’s groundwater supplies we:

• drill bores to understand the geology and hydrogeology
• collect and analyse water samples to determine groundwater quality, chemical composition and age
• study ecosystems to determine how much plants and wetlands depend on groundwater or rainfall
• commission electromagnetic or seismic surveys
• review decades of data we hold in our database
• analyse, interpret and use the results to inform groundwater management.

You can access all the raw data we have gathered at our Water Information Reporting portal.

We also publish technical reports on the findings of our investigations.

Across the state we investigate groundwater resources where we need better groundwater information to support sustainable management. The investigations are in areas where high projected future demand, high water use and declining rainfall due to climate change are factors that could threaten the long-term sustainable use of groundwater.

Since 2005 we have carried out several large work programs:

• State Groundwater Investigation Program (SGIP): this began in 2005 and is a major strategic and ongoing work program. The investigations focus on collecting new hydrogeological information that helps us formulate the best water management strategies for all regions across the state.
• Water for Pilbara Cities, Water for Food and Regional Water Availability groundwater investigation programs (2012–16): these Royalties for Regions-funded programs accelerated our statewide program and proved-up new groundwater resources in the Kimberley, Pilbara, Murchison, South West and South Coast regions, enabling sustainable development in these growth areas and protecting the environment at the same time.
• Perth Region Confined Aquifer Capacity (PRCAC) (2012–16): this study explored the deep aquifers under Perth. Understanding how aquifers interact and where recharge comes from helps us develop strategies to sustainably abstract groundwater from these resources.
• Shallow Groundwater System groundwater investigations (2006–11): these focused on numerous lakes and wetlands around the greater Perth metropolitan area and their interaction with the shallow groundwater of the Gnangara and Jandakot mounds.

You can download our technical reports and other publications in the document collection.