Katherine Tindall Limestone Water Allocation Plan – Science Report
Details:
Title
Katherine Tindall Limestone Water Allocation Plan – Science Report,
Creator
Rooke, Eric,
Issued by
Northern Territory. Department of Lands, Planning and Environment. Water Resources Division,
Collection
E-Publications,
E-Books,
PublicationNT,
Water Resources Division Technical Report 27/2024,
Date
2024-10-10,
Location
Katherine,
Abstract
The current Katherine Tindall Plan expires in August 2024. The Minister has declared the Katherine Tindall Limestone Aquifer water allocation plan 2024-2026 to maintain the existing water management arrangements while a new 10-year plan is developed. The purpose of this report is to collate and document investigations and science pertaining to water resources to support the next iteration of the Katherine Tindall Plan. In so doing, a synopsis of key historical studies is provided to enable an appreciation of the incremental steps achieved in understanding the water resource and in guiding more recent studies. This report will be used to inform a ‘background report’ for the new Plan.,
Notes
Made available by via Publications (Legal Deposit) Act 2004 (NT),
Table of contents
Acronyms -- Glossary -- 1. Introduction -- 1.1. The Plan area -- 2. Regional Context -- 2.1. Topography -- 2.2. Climate -- 2.3. Climate change -- 3. Water Resource Key Investigations -- 3.1. Analysis of Groundwater Fed Flows for the Flora, Katherine, Douglas and Daly Rivers (Jolly et al., 2000) -- 3.2. Groundwater Modelling of the Tindall Limestone Aquifer (Puhalovich, 2005) -- 3.3. Groundwater Resources of the Tindall Limestone Formation (Tickell, 2005) -- 3.4. Groundwater Inflows from the Tindall Limestone into the Katherine River (Gray & Jolly, 2007) -- 3.5. Tindall Limestone drilling, 2011 (Tickell, 2012) -- 3.6. Upgrade of the Coupled Model of the Cambrian Limestone Aquifer and Roper River Systems (‘DR2 Model’) (CLOUDGMS, 2020) -- 3.7. Water resource regional investigations -- 3.7.1. Mapping the Future -- 3.7.2. National Water Grid Authority (in progress) -- 3.8. NT Sustainable Precincts -- 4. Surface water resources -- 4.1. Katherine River catchment -- 4.2. Gauging stations on the Katherine River -- 4.2.1. G8140001, Railway Bridge gauging station -- 4.2.2. G8140535, Ironwood gauging station -- 4.2.3. G8140536, Wilden gauging station -- 4.3. Flow duration -- 4.4. Dry season flows -- 4.5. Bankfull conditions and flooding -- 4.6. A comparison of modelled predictions with monitored data -- 5. Groundwater resources -- 5.1. Hydrogeological setting and conceptualisation -- 5.2. Geology and hydrogeology of the TLA -- 5.3. Groundwater recharge -- 5.3.1. Preamble -- 5.3.2. Recharge mechanisms -- 5.3.3. Estimates of recharge -- Katherine Tindall Limestone Water Allocation Plan – Science Report5.3.4. Potential recharge from Cretaceous-age rocks including on the Murruwal Plateau -- 5.3.5. Modelled recharge -- 5.4. Groundwater flow system (GFS) -- 5.4.1. Basin-wide GFS (Daly Basin) -- 5.4.2. Regional GFS -- 5.4.3. Local GFS -- 5.5. Groundwater production bores -- 5.6. Groundwater standing water levels and potentiometric surface -- 5.7. Aquifer parameters and groundwater storage -- 5.8. Groundwater discharge -- 5.8.1. Groundwater take -- 5.8.2. Flow recession and low flows -- 5.8.3. Springs -- 5.8.4. Groundwater discharge protection areas -- 5.9. Groundwater quality -- 5.9.1. Groundwater Contamination Risk Assessment -- 5.9.2. Potential water quality issues and contaminants -- 5.9.2.1. Turbidity -- 5.9.2.2. Nitrate -- 5.9.2.3. PFAS -- 5.10. Groundwater basins interconnectivity -- 6. Groundwater modelling -- 6.1. Model history and development -- 6.2. Discussion of the natural water balance -- 6.2.1. DR2 model statistics for the Plan area -- 6.2.2. Baseflows at Wilden -- 6.2.3. Modelled heads -- 6.2.4. Modelled natural water balance (on 31st October 2022) -- 6.2.5. Modelled aquifer recharge versus discharge -- 7. Environmental water -- 7.1.1. Groundwater dependent ecosystems -- 7.1.1.1. Terrestrial groundwater dependent ecosystems -- 7.1.1.2. Subterranean groundwater dependent ecosystems -- 8. Estimated sustainable yield -- 8.1. ESY and an interconnected GFS – discussion -- 8.2. ESY applied to the Katherine TLA Plan -- 8.3. Groundwater -- 8.4. Modelling extraction scenarios -- 9. Monitoring -- 10. Conclusions -- 10.1. The Plan -- 10.2. Climate change projections -- 10.3. Surface Water -- 10.4. Hydrogeology -- 10.4.1. Comparison between October 2022 and March 2023 groundwaters and inferences drawn -- 10.4.2. Geomorphological control on the hydrogeology -- 10.5. Groundwater hydrology -- 10.6. Groundwater recharge and discharge -- 10.7. The integrated groundwater/surface water numerical model -- 10.8. Groundwater quality -- 10.9. Contamination risk to the aquifer -- 10.10. Eco-hydrology -- 10.11. Monitoring -- 11. References -- Appendix A Bibliography,
Language
English,
Subject
Water Allocation Plan,
Water Resources Assessment,
Hydrogeology,
Surface water,
Groundwater,
Science informing,
Publisher name
Northern Territory Government,
Place of publication
Palmerston (NT),
Series
Water Resources Division Technical Report 27/2024,