Lessons from the Use of an Active Production Well for Compliance Monitoring in the Great Artesian Basin, Australia

Wellfield B, in the Great Artesian Basin (GAB), supplies 30 ML/day of fresh groundwater to BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam mine and the town of Roxby Downs in South Australia. Groundwater use from Wellfield B is regulated according to the regional effects on pressures in the aquifer. Drawdown assessment criteria (allowing a maximum of 5?m as pressure drawdown measured in piezometers) were set at five sites, including two active pastoral production wells that existed prior to the commissioning of Wellfield B. Aquifer pressure in these production wells was measured after a predetermined recovery time. Pastoral flow was eliminated in 2009/10 in one of the wells, providing an opportunity to assess whether antecedent flow had affected the measured pressures and therefore the reported apparent drawdown. In the GAB, the combination of deep wells, high pressures, and hot water make flow and pressure measurements and the calculation of head more challenging than in cold aquifers. Pressures measured at the well head often decrease during recovery, and the influence of temperature has to be incorporated in head calculations. Based on one example, Jackboot Bore, it is clear that recovery times in the order of months are required, which is impractical. Hence, the use of an active production well for assessing compliance with drawdown criteria is not recommended in the GAB.