Groundwater Monitoring
Rising groundwater is a major land degradation hazard in many areas of the South West Agricultural Region of Western Australia, and results in increased salinisation. Collecting data on the depth to groundwater and water quality over time is the only way to know whether the watertable is rising, falling or static, if water quality is changing, and the degree of salinity risk.
There are three reasons to monitor groundwater:
to estimate the risk of rising watertables that could affect production
to monitor the effect of management on watertables
to monitor changes in water quality
A single measure of depth to the watertable will not show if the watertable is rising, falling or static: a series of measurements taken regularly over at least five years enables the data to be used to:
track direction of water level changes
assess the risk of increasing saline land
indicate the likely groundwater systems in a specified area
identify when groundwater recharge occurs and the effect of seasonal conditions on groundwater levels
evaluate the effect of land management practices on groundwater levels
For more information:
The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development website contains more information on groundwater monitoring.
https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/soil-salinity/monitoring-groundwater