Securing Western Australia’s water future Groundwater assessment of the north-west Hamersley Range Hydrogeological record series Report no. HG62 August 2016 Groundwater assessment of the north-west Hamersley Range Securing Western Australia’s water future Department of Water Hydrogeological record series Report no. HG62 August 2016 Department of Water 168 St Georges Terrace Perth Western Australia 6000 Telephone +61 8 6364 7600 Facsimile +61 8 6364 7601 National Relay Service 13 36 77 www.water.wa.gov.au © Government of Western Australia August 2016 This work is copyright. You may download, display, print and reproduce this material in unaltered form only (retaining this notice) for your personal, non-commercial use or use within your organisation. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, all other rights are reserved. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the Department of Water. ISBN [978-1-925387-82-7] (print) ISBN [978-1-925387-83-4] (online) Acknowledgements The Department of Water thanks the following for their contribution to this publication. This summary document was prepared by Seth Johnson of HydroConcept Pty Ltd, based on a more comprehensive, technical report. Review and editing was undertaken by James Milne, Sandie McHugh, Gary Humphreys, Kevin Hopkinson and Alex Waterhouse. This project is made possible by the State Government’s Royalties for Regions program. For more information, visit http://www.drd.wa.gov.au. For more information about this report, contact Manager Water Resource Assessment Branch. Cover photograph: Riverine pool within Robe River Disclaimer This document has been published by the Department of Water. Any representation, statement, opinion or advice expressed or implied in this publication is made in good faith and on the basis that the Department of Water and its employees are not liable for any damage or loss whatsoever which may occur as a result of action taken or not taken, as the case may be in respect of any representation, statement, opinion or advice referred to herein. Professional advice should be obtained before applying the information contained in this document to particular circumstances. This publication is available at our website <www.water.wa.gov.au/search-publications> or for those with special needs it can be made available in alternative formats such as audio, large print, or Braille. Groundwater assessment of the north-west Hamersley Range Hydrogeological record series, no. HG62 Contents Summary ..................................................................................................................... v 1 Introduction.............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Background ...................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Scope and purpose .......................................................................................................... 1 2 Study area ............................................................................................................... 2 2.1 Location ........................................................................................................................... 2 2.2 Climate ............................................................................................................................. 3 2.3 Physiography ................................................................................................................... 3 2.4 Environment ..................................................................................................................... 3 2.5 Land use .......................................................................................................................... 4 2.6 Demand for water ............................................................................................................. 4 3 Methods .................................................................................................................. 5 3.1 Groundwater resource assessment ................................................................................. 5 3.2 Surface water assessment ............................................................................................... 8 4 Hydrogeology .......................................................................................................... 9 4.1 Valley-fill aquifer ............................................................................................................. 10 4.2 Calcrete aquifer .............................................................................................................. 11 4.3 Channel-iron deposit (CID) aquifer ................................................................................. 11 4.4 Fractured-rock aquifer .................................................................................................... 12 4.5 Recharge ....................................................................................................................... 12 4.6 Groundwater quality ....................................................................................................... 13 4.7 Resource potential ......................................................................................................... 14 5 Upper Bungaroo .................................................................................................... 15 5.1 Overview ........................................................................................................................ 15 5.2 Renewable resources .................................................................................................... 15 5.3 Stored resources ............................................................................................................ 16 5.4 Resource development .................................................................................................. 16 6 Weelumurra ........................................................................................................... 17 6.1 Overview ........................................................................................................................ 17 6.2 Renewable resources .................................................................................................... 17 6.3 Stored resources ............................................................................................................ 18 6.4 Resource development .................................................................................................. 18 7 Caliwingina ............................................................................................................ 19 7.1 Overview ........................................................................................................................ 19 7.2 Renewable resources .................................................................................................... 19 7.3 Stored resources ............................................................................................................ 20 7.4 Resource development .................................................................................................. 20 8 Kumina Creek Confluence .................................................................................... 21 8.1 Overview ........................................................................................................................ 21 Department of Water iii Hydrogeological record series, no. HG62 Groundwater assessment of the north-west Hamersley Range 8.2 Renewable resources .................................................................................................... 21 8.3 Stored resources ............................................................................................................ 22 8.4 Resource development .................................................................................................. 22 9 Yanks Bore ............................................................................................................ 23 9.1 Overview ........................................................................................................................ 23 9.2 Renewable resources .................................................................................................... 23 9.3 Stored resources ............................................................................................................ 23 9.4 Resource potential ......................................................................................................... 24 10 Urandy Creek ........................................................................................................ 25 10.1 Overview ........................................................................................................................ 25 10.2 Renewable resources .................................................................................................... 25 10.3 Stored resources ............................................................................................................ 25 10.4 Resource potential ......................................................................................................... 26 11 Buckland ............................................................................................................... 27 12 Conclusions