Confidence about the output obtained from groundwater models has been enhanced following the release, by the National Water Commission, of new Australian Groundwater Modelling Guidelines.
The objective of the Australian Groundwater Modelling Guidelines is to promote a consistent and sound approach to the development of groundwater flow and solute transport models in Australia.
The new guidelines have been produced for the National Water Commission by projects firm Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM) and the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training (NCGRT), with support from industry leading practitioners.
They build on existing guidelines, produced in 2001 by the then Murray-Darling Basin Commission, that have been adopted throughout Australia by industry and various water authorities and agencies in recent years.
The new Guidelines are intended to provide a national perspective and to include all types of groundwater models and modelling approaches.
Groundwater models are computational methods that simulate the flow of water and solutes found within the rocks and sediments below the ground surface.
They have proven to be useful in providing an insight into complex groundwater system behaviour; to address a range of groundwater problems; and to support decision-making processes in the management of a valuable natural resource.
Sinclair Knight Merz Project Manager, Brian Barnett said that the Guidelines are aimed at all parties who have an interest in groundwater modelling including government regulators, project developers, community groups as well as the modellers themselves.
“Creating a reference document for such a diverse audience has proven to be challenging,” Barnett said. “The Guidelines should be seen as a point of reference for best practice and not as a rigid standard.”
“One of the key objectives is to promote an approach to model development that provides for a more balanced assessment of the confidence with which we can use groundwater models.
“This approach considers the quantity and quality of data that support the model, the strength of the calibration procedure and the way in which the model is used in future predictions.
“One of challenges was to promote good modelling practice and, at the same time, to acknowledge and encourage the continual evolution of modelling techniques through adaptation and innovation,” Barnett added.
The preparation of the guideline has involved a collaborative approach among 10 principal chapter authors, a further eight technical reviewers (including review by a US expert) and a technical steering committee.
Two national workshops were held during the development of the Guidelines with representatives from a range of state and Australian Government agencies, industry organisations and consultants in attendance.