Beachfront sediment sampling, Cockburn Sound, Western Australia

WA team makes a big splash in groundwater management

Research by CSIRO's Urban Water Environments team has culminated in significant advances in coastal resource management, by linking land management practices with near-shore marine health.

Cockburn Sound, south of Fremantle in Western Australia, is an iconic coastal area that supports industrial, commercial, social and environmental values. By considering groundwater contamination pathways, the research team identified a range of short term and long-term risks to the environmental viability of the Sound. The Sound is facing current stresses from groundwater contamination, particularly from excess nutrients, and there is potential for more stresses in the future. The human population of the catchment is set to triple in the next 20 years or so.

	One of the major ways for land-based activities to affect marine environments is through groundwater

The Western Australian Government recognized the importance of Cockburn Sound by making it the subject of the first State Environmental Policy and instituting a formal council to oversee the environmental state of the Sound, the Cockburn Sound Management Council (CSMC). The CSMC, with financial assistance from the WA Department of Environment and Conservation and the Kwinana Industries Council, commissioned CSIRO to conduct a study of the Cockburn Sound catchment groundwater quality.

To carry out the review, the team integrated twenty years of successful industry-backed scientific research on land-use impacts on groundwater and coastal groundwater processes. The team has built an international reputation in characterisation, monitoring and field-scale remediation technologies for industrial and urban pollutants – including petroleum fuels, munition compounds, pesticides, nutrients and metals.

In addition, the team's emphasis on field investigation and laboratory to field-scale demonstration of technologies to encourage uptake and adoption has facilitated strong partnerships with industry, government agencies, regulators, international researchers and private consultants.

The findings of the Cockburn Sound study, endorsed by State Government bodies and presented to peak industry, regulatory and community groups, have influenced management and regulatory practices and strengthened the sustainability of future development in the Sound. The findings have led to significant extra expenditure for water quality monitoring and community reporting, plus a large collaborative grant to improve hydrogeological understanding of the catchment.

The team's reputation as world leaders in the field of soil and groundwater remediation has led to CSIRO being asked to design a $75Million management and remediation project for a similar environment in the United Kingdom.

Urban Water Environments is a research stream of the Water for a Healthy Country National Research Flagship. Its objective is to quantify the impacts on water resources from expanding urban regions and provide remedial and management options for reducing our environmental footprint.

Read the Full Report (PDF 5.2 MB) or the Community Summary Paper (PDF 480 kB) [External Links]

Contact: Mike Trefry, CSIRO Land and Water
Email: mike.trefry@csiro.au

IN THIS EDITION:

Update Home

Message from the Director

Novel new membrane could cut CO₂ emissions and purify water

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$50M Research Alliance tackles urban water sustainability

Tracking how groundwater goes with the flow

Research into water impacts on plantations leads to world-first policy change

Planning landscapes of the future

Economic assessment of acquiring water for environmental flows in the Murray Basin

Eastern Australian drought connected with El Nino

WA team makes a big splash in groundwater management

It's so good it's been bottled

Monitoring leaky landscapes

Thinking Water and Climate: Hydrological Consequences of Climate Change

What's in Our Water: The significance of trace organic compounds

Key Contacts

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