Groundwater management

Groundwater is generally stored in pore spaces and fractures within rocks and the proportion of void space is known as the porosity. The rate of groundwater flow is governed by the permeability of the rocks: a measure of how connected the void spaces are. Evaluation of contemporary aquifer recharge rates is fundamental to considering the sustainability of groundwater resource development. A catchment-scale vision of managing groundwater systems includes the requirements for acceptable river baseflow and adequate aquifer levels to sustain Groundwater-Dependent Ecosystems. The complexity of groundwater management increases as more linkages are considered, and a pragmatic decision taken on which are most relevant to maintain a reasonable balance between the costs and benefits of management interventions. Groundwater management must deal with balancing the exploitation of a complex resource with the increasing demands of water and land users, who can pose a threat to resource availability and quality, and the aquatic environment.