Department Energy and Water Supply

Guideline for use About the poster The Inland poster (the poster) is part of the water cycle series and depicts a snapshot of Queensland’s vast inland water system, including the extensive groundwater (underground) aquifers. The water journey illustrated in the poster is an outline of the natural water cycle and many elements of inland water storage and use. The setting represents a generic inland landscape to allow educators to identify and name local features to establish a familiar context relevant to their audience. The department has produced two other educational posters—The Water Cycle (explaining the natural water cycle) and Total Water Cycle Management (explaining the water cycle in a coastal urban environment). These resources are available from the Department of Eenrgy and Water Supply (the department) website at . The poster is also a useful resource for educators in coastal areas to assist in understanding the inland water cycle. > > Contents The poster aims to provide Queensland water educators 66 About this poster and teachers with a resource to build learning about: 66 Using the poster 66 the precious nature of water »»General information 66 groundwater, including the Great Artesian Basin (GAB) 66 water sources, supply and storage in inland urban and »»Water sources rural locations »» The Great Artesian Basin 66 inland water use and reuse »»Water use 66 sustainable water management. »»Sustainability of inland water This guideline aims to assist water educators and teachers 66 Curriculum links by offering suggestions and ideas for using the poster to stimulate inquiry. Curriculum links to the Water: Learn it 6 6 Classroom activities for Life!* resources are included.

* More information about Water: Learn it for life! can be found at:

Great state. Great opportunity. The poster is available free to Queensland councils swamps, lakes, rivers, billabongs and peat bogs— and schools. It can be downloaded in PDF format for they do not have to be continuously wet. Lake printing or copies can be ordered on the department’s Yamma Yamma on Cooper Creek in South West website at . Queensland is often dry for years at a time. Water can flow into wetlands from rainfall, flooding, overland flow or groundwater seepage. Water is lost Using the poster from the wetland through evaporation, seepage to groundwater or transpired through vegetation. General information Wetlands slow down and filter out nutrients and sediments from run-off that would usually go into 66 Additional information and explanation of concepts creeks and rivers. They provide an important habitat presented in the poster, including the GAB, can be and breeding place for a diversity of wildlife not found in the Background Information for Teachers found in other areas of Australia, including migrating section of the Water: Learn it for life! resource. waterbirds. 66 Familiarity with the processes of the natural water 66 The vegetation which lines natural waterways, called cycle introduced in The Water Cycle poster will aid riparian vegetation, has many important functions. audience understanding of the water cycle elements It acts to trap sediment carried in water flow and presented in this poster. reduces the velocity of overland flood flows which 66 Inland Queensland includes Aboriginal heritage enables sediments carried in the water to settle places shaped by the original inhabitants and out. Riparian vegetation provides cooling shade for historical events of this landscape. Waterways, river the waterway which creates a habitat for birds, fish systems and riparian zones are considered to be and other wildlife and helps protect the waterway’s the lifeblood of Country for Aboriginal people. The banks from erosion during high water flow. Riparian Queensland Murray–Darling Committee (QMDC) vegetation should be retained along the full length Regional Caring for Country plan has significant of a watercourse in order to provide connectivity, information regarding Aboriginal people’s wildlife corridors and a buffer against the impacts of relationship with inland landscapes. This plan earthworks and agriculture. is available from the publications section of the 66 The practice of damming a waterway ensures a more committee’s website at . regular water supply in time of low rainfall. 66 For older students it is important to explain that can also act as a method of removing sedimentation while the poster only shows water cycle processes from streams, as suspended solids in water flowing occurring in specific areas, they are occurring into the have time to settle out. Damming may throughout the entire landscape. Transpiration affect local fish populations and other aquatic life. occurs from any vegetation, including grazing Fishways built into dam or weir walls allow upstream grasslands, and from any surface water. evaporation and sometimes downstream access for fish breeding Surface water may be seeping ( ) into the infiltrating and feeding. groundwater across the entire landscape, not just in 66 The scale of this poster does not allow detailed the cut-away in the foreground. depiction of plant and animal life. Some of the plant 66 The poster shows evaporation followed by and animal life that would be seen in a catchment condensation then , all within a such as this can be explored in the Flora and Fauna relatively small area on the landscape. In reality of the Murray–Darling Basin poster available from precipitation normally occurs a significant distance the publications section of the Murray–Darling Basin from the point of evaporation. Association website . 66 In times of heavy rainfall, normally dry gullies and 66 Operators of wastewater treatment plants are watercourses in the upper catchment fill to their required to seek opportunities for beneficial capacity and excess water flows into rivers and reuse of treated wastewater where options exist. creeks. When run-off is high rivers break their banks The wastewater treatment plant in the poster is and flow over the land ( can be seen in the flooding positioned near both cropping and sporting fields, centre of the poster) sometimes meeting up with the where irrigation would provide reuse options for river further along its journey. The term ‘ephemeral’ treated wastewater (recycled water). Alternatively, is used to describe waterways that only flow for part treated wastewater may flow to a local waterway of the year. These ephemeral waters subside leaving or become water vapour through evaporation or replenished wetlands, along with isolated bodies of transpiration. water which form in-stream pools, billabongs and 66 Many inland residential properties may not be lagoons. connected to a central wastewater treatment plant. 66 Inland wetlands are diverse and productive areas Such properties are likely to have their own septic where land and water meet. Wetlands can be system for wastewater instead, as seen in the 66 Groundwater and surface water are linked systems— left-hand foreground. Discharged wastewater that they are interdependent. Surface water can infiltrate has been treated by a septic system may infiltrate past the plant root zone to become groundwater. into the ground or be taken up by plants through This interaction is a two-way process. Groundwater transpiration. In some communities a common may once again become surface water via springs effluent drainage scheme connects the septic and alluvial water may replenish streams if the water systems to transport the discharge for further table is above the level of water in stream beds. treatment. 66 Within Australia’s Aboriginal cultural heritage, the 66 The two cropping paddocks either side of the journey of water from underground to surface wastewater treatment plant show contour banks, springs or watering holes is depicted as an oral demonstrated by the regularly spaced brown lines. history of creation by the dreamtime story of the Contour banks are raised earth banks that follow Rainbow Serpent. the natural form of the land. Run-off containing 66 An aquifer is a deposit of permeable rock layers or both water and soil flows down the slope where the sediments that transmit groundwater freely. Not all contour banks slow its speed and redirect its path groundwater will yield a useable supply. Alluvial to a drainage line or creek system, slowing the aquifers are areas of water-bearing sand and gravel speed of the run-off and stopping it concentrating in typically deposited by lakes, streams and rivers. gullies which reduces soil erosion. Modern cropping 66 The penetration of water from alluvial aquifers to and grazing techniques that maximise vegetative deeper underground can continue through porous cover to protect soil are also very important in rock formations like sandstone layers, or through preventing erosion. cracks in rocks. Porous rocks store water and allow it to flow underground. Movement of water Water sources underground can be very slow. 66 For the purpose of illustrating an obvious cycle, the poster shows local evaporation, condensation and precipitation that reflectsconvection rainfall. In reality monsoonal or frontal rains are the main rain source for inland areas in northern Australia. Frontal rain is created when a mass of warm air meets a mass of colder air and rises. This cools the warm air creating condensation which forms clouds and then precipitation. Communities rely heavily on this rain to replenish surface water and recharge aquifers, ensuring continued water supplies. There will often be immediate growth of plants and greening of landscapes following rain and this can be seen in the poster with a slight green tinge where the precipitation has already passed as it moves forward from the horizon line. 66 Relief rainfall (orographic rainfall) is the third source 66 The term ‘artesian’ refers to a confined aquifer in of rain and occurs when warm air is forced to rise which the stored water is under pressure due to the over land features such as hills or mountains. The relative height of the entry point of water into the cooling effect of this rising air mass creates rain as aquifer (known as the recharge area). As can be described above. Relief rain can be seen in the side seen in the illustration above, the artesian aquifers view section of the poster. are confined by the layers of bedrock above and 66 Water infiltrates from surface flow and is carried below them. The pressure of water higher up in the down by gravity and capillarity to fill the tiny spaces artesian aquifer pushes water through the system, between the soil particles (infiltration). If there is in some cases to return to the surface. Springs are sufficient water available infiltration occurs until the natural exit points for artesian aquifers. A bore sunk ground becomes saturated, often to a considerable in an artesian basin results in water flowing freely to depth. Where water meets impervious rock, labelled the surface. as bedrock on the poster, it moves sideways until all 66 Subartesian water is not under sufficient pressure tiny spaces are saturated. The layer filled with water to bring it to the surface on its own and will require is called the saturated zone and the top of this layer pumping to reach the surface. of saturation is referred to as the water table. The Great Artesian Basin dam water. Therefore, no water is lost to evaporation or seepage and the natural artesian pressure is 66 The Great Artesian Basin (GAB) is a multi-layered maintained, removing the need for pumping. series of confined aquifers; it is not a single aquifer. Within the GAB, layers of porous sandstone are sandwiched between bedrock layers of mudstone and siltstone. Water enters the GAB initially in recharge areas and then infiltrates very slowly (often for hundreds of kilometres) through the sandstone by the pressure of gravity. Much of the water in the GAB is thought to have entered the basin millions of years ago. 66 It is important to recognise that while the majority of inland Queensland sits above the GAB there is a significant land mass in the upper half of the far western part of the state where this is not the case. See page 12 of the Background Information for Image 1: A cooling dam prior to being filled with water Teachers section of Water: Learn it for life! 66 The height to which water in an artesian aquifer 66 In many of Queensland’s inland areas the GAB is will rise on its own is known as the ‘potentiometric the only reliable supply of water for domestic, stock surface’. In the side view section of the poster the and irrigation purposes. Different areas of the GAB potentiometric surface is indicated by the blue have varying levels of water quality. Artesian water and white dotted line. As depicted in the diagram, is often of high quality due to lengthy underground the potentiometric surface decreases very slightly filtering processes. Some is of sufficient quality that with each spring or bore as a small amount of it may not require any treatment at all, or treatment the pressure within the aquifer is released. Since by basic chlorination only, before distribution European settlement, the potentiometric surface in for drinking. Chlorination helps maintain water many areas of the GAB has reduced significantly due quality during distribution in piping networks. to the high number of open, free flowing bores that In some communities, high salinity may mean have been sunk. This pressure drop has resulted in that groundwater supplies require desalination the drying up of some previously flowing springs. through reverse osmosis technology in order to 66 The water supply of the Great Artesian Basin allowed provide a suitable drinking water supply. Without early settlers access to artesian water. Bores were this treatment the salinity may make GAB water sunk and open drains channelled the water for unsuitable even for irrigation purposes. In other tens of kilometres to water stock. This resulted areas GAB water may be mixed with a surface water in waste through seepage and evaporation. With supply prior to treatment. funding from the Great Artesian Basin Sustainability 66 The GAB provides a source for spring wetlands Initiative (GABSI), open bores are gradually being (or mound springs) which occur naturally in the capped and piped water systems are being built landscape where groundwater escapes to the to distribute water. This initiative is reducing water surface under pressure. Some springs occur in rivers wastage and significantly improving artesian or creeks—termed watercourse springs—and add to pressure. As a result, springs in some areas have stream-flow. begun to flow again. 66 The GAB has an average depth of 500 metres but is Water use up to 3000 metres deep in some places. Water at a 66 Isolated springs appear on the landscape (upper great depth in the GAB will often come to the surface left quadrant) and have long provided water for hot. Heat from the earth’s molten core is transferred Aboriginal people who have extensive knowledge through the bedrock which in turn heats the deep of the groundwater system. For thousands of years aquifer water. GAB water often requires cooling Aboriginal people have survived desert and semi- before use. arid conditions by managing water sustainably. 66 In the past hot artesian water was pumped into a They have channelled and filtered their water and pond to cool creating water loss through evaporation covered stored water to prevent contamination and seepage (infiltration). Today,artesian cooling and evaporation. They are also adept at reading dams are used—the hot water enters copper piping signs of water. For example, gum trees, dingo and arranged in a grid formation under the surface of ant movement are all signs of a water source. The the dam. This works like a radiator, allowing the hot Background Information for Teachers section of water in the pipes to be cooled by the surrounding Water: Learn it for life! provides more detail. 66 European settlers often followed the walking tracks these sources to allow educators to discuss those of Aboriginal people because their tracks were an relevant to their area. indication of water supply. Many of these tracks 66 Coal mining is one of the many industries which are marked in a way that reflects Aboriginal culture depend on a plentiful supply of water. Coal and including painted and engraved (petroglyph) rock vehicle wash down and dust suppression are art, burials, pathways, scarred trees, stone artefacts essential to prevent potentially explosive reactions and scatters, wells, grinding grooves and food and from coal dust. Many mines use recycled water for fibre resource sites. There are some Queensland a significant proportion of their use. Mining in the GAB sites where archaeologists have found Bowen Basin, located in Central Queensland and Aboriginal sites dating back 20 000 years. running from Collinsville to Theodore, aims to use 66 Dams and weirs are generally less efficient forms of 60 per cent of water from recycled sources. Some mass water storage in inland areas of Queensland. mines generate an unwanted by-product from Low humidity, high temperatures and usually processing the ore, called tailings, which can be shallow depth lead to high water loss through collected in a tailings dam. Groundwater can be evaporation. pumped into the tailings dam which then evaporates 66 Ring tanks, such as the one shown on the cotton or discharges to a local waterway. farm in the right foreground of the poster, only pump 66 The emerging coal seam gas (CSG) industry in parts water from streams for storage when a nominated of inland Queensland is likely to play a significant level of flow is exceeded in the stream. role in the inland water cycle in the future. CSG is a 66 Crops like cotton require large quantities of water natural gas, consisting primarily of methane, which resulting in deep drainage problems from irrigation collects in underground coal seams by bonding as seen in the area below the cotton farm in the right to the surface of coal particles. CSG is extracted foreground. Deep drainage occurs when irrigation through wells drilled into coal seams which are water infiltrates below the root zone of the plants. generally filled with water. The initial phase of CSG As the water moves down it may pick up salts, production usually involves the extraction of water nutrients and pesticides which have the potential to from the coal seams in order to reduce the water contaminate other groundwater sources. Information pressure and release gas from the coal. Significant can be sourced from the department’s website at quantities of CSG water are likely to be generated as . a result of CSG production. More information about CSG can be found on the department’s website at 66 Groundwater below the cotton farm shows it . is moving through the landscape. With the interdependence between groundwater and surface water, it is important to recognise that impacts on Sustainability of inland water surface water quality in one area can lead to 66 The interdependence of groundwater and surface impacts on both groundwater and surface water in water systems means that all water sources must be another area. treated with respect and used efficiently, regardless 66 Many communities are settled close to a river and of the perception of how much water may exist. are built at a height that reduces the likelihood of Even if a plentiful water supply does exist there flooding during significant rainfall. Alternatively, is a significant cost and carbon impact from both many inland towns like Charleville are protected by pumping and treating water. levee banks built to guard the town from floodwaters 66 The complicated network of groundwater systems which originate further upstream. provide life to so much of inland Queensland. 66 Inland urban areas have a diverse array of water While the GAB provides a vast source of water, supply sources. Some communities use treated like any water system, overuse and wastage may artesian or alluvial water for drinking water supply, have unforseen impacts in the future. As already while others use these sources untreated for toilets, discussed, the reduction in potentiometric surface showering or outdoor use (such as irrigation). as a result of high numbers of open bores in the GAB Surface water storages may provide a source of is a key example of this. drinking water for some towns, while elsewhere 66 ‘Sustainability is concerned with the ongoing there may be no such source or it may only be used capacity of the Earth to maintain life. It aims to outdoors. Rainwater tanks are also an important reduce our ecological footprint while simultaneously water source with varying applications depending on supporting a quality of life that is valued—the the area. In some communities a combination of all liveability of our society. Sustainable patterns water sources are used. Use and treatment of water of living meet the needs of the present without in inland urban areas is dependant on the quantity compromising the ability of future generations to and quality of water available. The poster shows all meet their own needs1.’ Before European settlement Unit 2—Lesson 1: Giving water use the slip Aboriginal people managed water for thousands of In this lesson students are introduced to the water years, providing models of sustainability. cycle through Whizzy’s Incredible Journeys—Pick-a-Path 66 Water resource plans set a balance between book. The poster could be introduced at the end of the providing water for irrigation and other consumptive reading to reinforce the concepts of the water cycle and uses, and reserving it for environmental flows. set a local context. There are water resource plans for all major inland catchments, and the GAB. These plans are Unit 2—Lesson 4: Poster talk developed with input from the community and Students evaluate various posters to discover their scientific experts. More information about water key features and how they can be used. The poster resource plans can be found on the department’s can be used as an example that uses a local setting website at . to create the context. There should be an emphasis on the different components and how the poster Curriculum links communicates its messages. A water cycle poster is an abstract representation of Unit 2—Lesson 5: Water expert training session reality. Usually it is preferable to introduce students to Students explore the various aspects of water through the concrete reality of the water cycle in the local area workstation activities, for example, how water travels before introducing the poster. Make sure to explicitly through plants (workstation 3) and the water cycle link discussion about different elements of the poster (workstation 4). Display the poster in a prominent to the students’ own experiences. position for reference during these activities. The following are suggestions for linking the poster Unit 1—Lesson 2: Going on a water wander with activities contained in the Water: Learn it for Life! In this lesson students undertake a field trip to view curriculum resource. local water infrastructure. The poster could be used Learning overview—Active learning processes: prior to this lesson to identify relevant infrastructure in investigating environments the local area and to assist students in deciding on a As an example of how the poster could be integrated relevant site to visit. into a number of possible learning overviews, it is Unit 1—Lesson 4: Catchment catch-up suggested that as a part of investigating environments In this lesson students are presented with a map the poster could be provided to groups of prep of their local catchment. The poster might first be students. Students could explore the content of the used to introduce the idea of a catchment and can poster to look for water sources. be discussed at a more general level. The poster Mini Inquiry 1—Why is water unique? is a powerful visual resource to improve student’s 1.2.1 Students are introduced to the water cycle conceptual development of groundwater within through Whizzy’s Incredible Journeys—Pick-a- catchments. Maps of the local catchment may be found Path book. The poster could be introduced at the through the WetlandsInfo website at . cycle concept and set a context, if relevant, to Unit 2—Lesson 1: Making a statement the local inland area. Students begin this unit by exploring what they Mini Inquiry 2—Where do we find water? already know about water. They are shown 13 water 2.3 Students explore where they might find water statements and asked whether they are true or false. in the local area. The poster provides additional Using The Inland Water Cycle as a visual aid for the stimulus for students to reinforce concepts class debrief will help students to stimulate their own relevant to inland communities. ideas about water. Unit 1—Lesson 3: Rain, rain Unit 2—Lesson 4: The resource race As part of this lesson explores groundwater the poster In this lesson students explore in a game situation the could be introduced as a visual aid to explain the challenges of sharing a limited water resource among concept of groundwater. This will assist students to different water users. The poster could be used in understand that groundwater comes to the surface either setting up or debriefing this activity to help naturally to form springs and in other cases flows back identify different water users. Alternatively, after into rivers. playing the resource race initially, students could then design their own inland resource race using the poster Unit 1—Lesson 5: My water story to generate ideas. The poster could act as additional stimuli to assist students to create a storyboard of the local water story.

1 The Australian Curriculum can be accessed at

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13. 12. 11. 10. 9. 8. 7. 6. [email protected] Email: Visit the Department of Environment and Resource Management website.