The Great Artesian Basin
Water in the dry interior
Teacher guide and lesson plans
Lower secondary
The Great Artesian Basin: Water in the dry
interior
Teacher guide and lesson plans – Lower
secondary
ISBN: 978-1-74200-126-5
SCIS order number: 1523380
Full bibliographic details are available from
Education Services Australia.
Published by Education Services Australia
PO Box 177
Carlton South Vic 3053
Australia
Acknowledgments:
Front- and back-cover, and banner
photographs, and page 4 background
photograph © Commonwealth of Australia.
Front cover: photograph by Angus Emmott,
above (left), below (centre left); photograph by
Cameron Slatyer, above (right); photograph by
Gunther E Schmida, below (far left);
photograph by Allan Fox, below (centre right);
photograph by Neil Eigeland, below (far right).
Fax: (03) 9910 9800
Back cover: photograph by Angus Emmott,
above, below (far right); courtesy MurrayDarling Basin Authority, photograph by John
Kruger, below (centre left); photograph by
Yvonne Webster, below (centre).
Email: sales@esa.edu.au Website:
www.esa.edu.au
Background (page 4): photograph by Yvonne
Webster.
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2 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
CONTENTS
Big Idea: How do we ensure that Australia’s water use is sustainable?
4
The Great Artesian Basin – Overview
5
Investigation 1 How important is artesian water in Australia?
9
Lesson 1.1 The importance of springs
13
Lesson 1.2 Mapping the Great Artesian Basin
20
Lesson 1.3 The value of artesian water – a local study
28
Investigation 2 How does the Great Artesian Basin work?
33
Lesson 2.1 How the Great Artesian Basin works
36
Lesson 2.2 Investigating artesian pressure
46
Investigation 3 What impacts have humans had on the Great Artesian Basin?
49
Lesson 3.1 What’s happened to the Great Artesian Basin?
52
Investigation 4 What can be done to address the current issues facing the Great Artesian Basin?
61
Lesson 4.1 The race to cap and pipe
63
Investigation 5 What can I do to ensure our water is used more sustainably?
68
Lesson 5.1 Groundwater and my household
71
Lesson 5.2 Does water divining work?
74
Glossary
80
Teacher guide and lesson plan | 3
BIG IDEA
How do we ensure that Australia’s water use is sustainable?
In a dry arid country such as Australia, the Great Artesian Basin is a precious
resource. In a time of projected reduced annual rainfall and frequent drought
what do we need to do to ensure this water resource is secured for future
generations and the diversity of our communities and ecosystems are
sustained?
4 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
The Great Artesian Basin
Overview
The Great Artesian Basin
The Great Artesian Basin is a vast underground water reservoir lying beneath approximately one-fifth of the
Australian continent. It consists of a system of sedimentary layers which were laid down over millions of
years and stores about 65,000 million megalitres of water, 130,000 times the capacity of Sydney Harbour.
For millennia, scattered artesian springs fed by water from the Basin have sustained ecosystems in arid
Australia and shaped the trade routes used by the Indigenous people. The discovery that the Basin could be
tapped by bores has allowed much of arid
Australia to become productive grazing land. To ensure that its resources are available for future
generations, it is vital that the Great Artesian Basin is managed in a sustainable manner.
Teacher guide and lesson plan | 5
At a glance
Guiding
investigations
Lessons
Outcomes
1.1 The
importance
of springs
Students recognise the environmental significance of
artesian springs and identify their cultural significance
to Indigenous Australians.
1.2 Mapping the
Great Artesian
Basin
Students identify the extent of the Great Artesian Basin and
1.3 The value of
artesian water –
a local study
Students carry out research and produce a poster or
presentation to communicate the importance of artesian
water to a community in arid Australia.
2.1 How the Great
Artesian Basin
works
Students describe the structure and functioning of the
Great Artesian Basin and explain how it can operate as a
sustainable water resource.
2.2 Investigating
artesian pressure
Students identify the source of artesian pressure and explain
its relationship to well-drilling by operating a model.
3.1 What’s
happened to the
Great Artesian
Basin?
Students investigate human impacts on the Great Artesian
Basin and identify issues affecting sustainability of land and
water use.
3.2 Case study –
Elizabeth Springs
Students recognise the threats to groundwater dependent
ecosystems associated with a mound spring.
4 What can be done
to address the
current issues
facing the Great
Artesian Basin?
4.1 The race
to cap and
pipe
Students analyse strategies used to tackle the issues
confronting the Great Artesian Basin and identify how they
contribute to sustainability.
5 What can I do to
ensure our water
is used more
sustainably?
5.1 Groundwater
and my household
Students investigate the extent and nature of groundwater
resources in the local area and make recommendations
about drilling a well to extract water.
1 How important is
artesian water in
Australia?
2 How does the Great
Artesian Basin
work?
3 What impacts have
humans had on
the Great Artesian
Basin?
5.2 Does water
divining work?
recognise its significance in settlement patterns.
Students perform a double-blind investigation to test whether
water divining works
6 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
Australian Curriculum Links
Science – Year 7
Science Understanding
Science as a Human
Endeavour
Science Inquiry Skills
Biological sciences
Nature and development of
science
Planning and conducting
 There are differences within
and between groups of
organisms; classification helps
organise this diversity
 Interactions between
organisms can be described in
terms of food chains and food
webs; human activity can
affect these interactions
Chemical sciences
 Mixtures, including solutions,
contain a combination of pure
substances that can be
separated using a range of
techniques
Earth and space sciences
 Some of Earth’s resources are
renewable, but others are nonrenewable
 Water is an important resource
that cycles through the
environment
 Scientific knowledge
changes as new evidence
becomes available, and
some scientific discoveries
have significantly changed
people’s understanding of
the world
 Science knowledge can
develop through
collaboration and
connecting ideas across
the disciplines of science
Use and influence of
science
 Science and technology
contribute to finding
solutions to a range of
contemporary issues;
these solutions may impact
on other areas of society
and involve ethical
considerations
 Science understanding
influences the development
of practices in areas of
human activity such as
industry, agriculture and
marine and terrestrial
resource management
 Collaboratively and individually plan
and conduct a range of investigation
types, including fieldwork and
experiments, ensuring safety and
ethical guidelines are followed
 In fair tests, measure and control
variables, and select equipment to
collect data with accuracy
appropriate to the task
Processing and analysing data and
information
 Construct and use a range of
representations, including graphs,
keys and models to represent and
analyse patterns or relationships,
including using digital technologies
as appropriate
 Summarise data, from students’ own
investigations and secondary
sources, and use scientific
understanding to identify
relationships and draw conclusions
Evaluating
 Reflect on the method used to
investigate a question or solve a
problem, including evaluating the
quality of the data collected, and
identify improvements to the method
 Use scientific knowledge and findings
from investigations to evaluate claims
Communicating
 Communicate ideas, findings and
solutions to problems using scientific
language and representations using
digital technologies as appropriate
Teacher guide and lesson plan | 7
Geography (from Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Geography)
Geographical knowledge and
understanding
Weather and water


Developing a geographical question

Year 7

Geographical inquiry and skills
the hydrologic cycle describes the
movement of water between the
atmosphere, land and oceans
weather can be a hazard, but the
risks can be reduced through
human adjustment to the
conditions presented
water is a difficult resource to
manage because it is integrated
into environmental systems in
complex ways, can be highly
variable over time and across
space, and has many competing
uses
observation can lead to questions for investigation
Planning a geographical inquiry

some geographical features can be explained by cause and
effect relationships with other places
Collection, evaluating and managing information

primary and secondary data must be evaluated for accuracy
and bias before being analysed

census data can be used to describe the growth, movement
and characteristics of the populations of places

information collected in a survey should be evaluated for
reliability
Making sense of the information

mapping the spatial distribution of a characteristic such as
rainfall, can be a first step in developing an understanding
of that characteristic and suggesting possible causal
relationships
Communicating

each type of communication has conventions that should
usually be followed for communication to be effective

the climate of place can be represented by a graph of
average monthly temperature and precipitation
Planning and implementing actions

finding a way of resolving a problem depends on an
understanding of the causes of that problem
Reflecting on the investigation

each investigation should be evaluated for what has been
learned about the topic investigated and what has been
learned about the process of investigation
8 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
INVESTIGATION 1
How important is artesian water in Australia?
Introduction
For at least a million years, springs fed by artesian
water have sustained isolated and unique
ecosystems in arid areas. Indigenous people in
these areas depended on springs for water and
food, and planned their travel routes around them.
They became places of great cultural and spiritual
significance. We need to acknowledge that the
springs are important and help them to survive as
close to their original state as possible.
Artesian springs result when water from a confined
aquifer naturally reaches the surface, either because
of faulting which fractures overlying aquitards, or
because the aquifer is close to the surface at the
margins of the basin. Many springs are surrounded
by conical mounds up to several metres high
consisting of sediments deposited from the artesian
water. For this reason, they are often called ‘mound
springs’.
Early European settlers found it difficult to extend
pastoral activities into central Australia because of
the lack of water. The discovery of artesian water
allowed expansion into the centre and the
establishment of permanent communities. In addition
to the pastoral industry, communication, transport,
mining and tourism became easier with reliable
supplies of water. The Basin needs to be managed
sustainably so that those communities and industries
can continue.
Much of inland Australia has very low annual
rainfall and limited supplies of surface water.
Indigenous people had an intimate knowledge of
groundwater resources and incorporated artesian
springs into their network of trackways. The
springs were crucial stepping points in the
construction of the Overland Telegraph line in the
early 1870s, opening up the first fast
communication between Australia and the rest of
the world. European settlers understood the
importance of these springs, but the existence of a
vast underground water resource was not
appreciated until it was tapped by an increasing
number of wells in the 1880s. Unlike groundwater
in most wells, water from these wells flowed freely
to the surface under great pressure. This had
immense consequences for inland Australia,
allowing for the development of agriculture,
mining, transport, tourism and the towns which
serviced these industries.
Groundwater and surface
water
Water on the earth’s surface (surface water) is
connected to water beneath the surface. Some
water from rainfall, rivers and lakes seeps into the
ground and becomes groundwater. In an
unconfined aquifer, the water moves downward
through pore spaces in the soil and rock until it
meets an impervious layer. The pore spaces
above the impervious layer become filled with
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 1 | 9
An aquifer that has non-porous layers (aquitards)
above and below is called a confined aquifer.
Water enters a confined aquifer at intake beds,
which are higher than the rest of the layer. The
water further along the confined aquifer is under
pressure due to the weight of the water above it.
Consequently, if a bore is drilled into the aquifer,
the water may rise above ground level, and is then
known as artesian water. The potentiometric
surface defines the height to which the artesian
water may rise.
All groundwater dissolves minerals from the rock
as it passes through an aquifer. The high
temperature of much artesian water, and the large
distances it travels through the aquifers means it
can carry a significant mineral load.
Groundwater
Source: Understanding Groundwater, Science for Decision Makers, 2007, ABARES
The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES)
is an independent research agency of the Australian Government
Types of aquifer
Types of aquifers
10 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
Source: Understanding Groundwater, Science for Decision Makers, 2007, ABARES
The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES)
is an independent research agency of the Australian Government
water up to a surface known as the water table.
Above the water table, the pore spaces are only
partly filled with water. As water is added or
removed, the water table may move up or down.
Australian Curriculum links
Science – Year 7
Science Understanding
Science as a Human
Endeavour
Science Inquiry Skills
Biological sciences
Nature and development of
science
Processing and analysing data and
information
 Scientific knowledge
changes as new evidence
becomes available, and
some scientific discoveries
have significantly changed
people’s understanding of
the world
 Science knowledge can
develop through
collaboration and
connecting ideas across
the disciplines of science
 Summarise data, from students’ own
investigations and secondary
sources, and use scientific
understanding to identify
relationships and draw conclusions
 There are differences within
and between groups of
organisms, classification
helps organise the diversity
 Interactions between
organisms, can be described
in terms of food chains and
food webs, human activity
can affect these interactions
Earth and space sciences
 Water is an important resource
that cycles through the
environment
Communicating
 Communicate ideas, findings and
solutions to problems using scientific
language and representations using
digital technologies as appropriate
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 1 | 11
Geography (from Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Geography)
Geographical knowledge and
understanding
Developing a geographical question

Year 7
Weather and water

Geographical inquiry and skills
water is a difficult resource to
manage because it is integrated
into environmental systems in
complex ways, can be highly
variable over time and across
space, and has many competing
uses
observation can lead to questions for investigation
Planning a geographical inquiry

some geographical features can be explained by cause and
effect relationships with other places
Collection, evaluating and managing information

primary and secondary data must be evaluated for accuracy
and bias before being analysed

census data can be used to describe the growth, movement
and characteristics of the populations of places
Making sense of the information

mapping the spatial distribution of a characteristic such as
rainfall, can be a first step in developing an understanding
of that characteristic and suggesting possible causal
relationships
Communicating

each type of communication has conventions that should
usually be followed for communication to be effective

the climate of place can be represented by a graph of
average monthly temperature and precipitation
Planning and implementing actions

finding a way of resolving a problem depends on an
understanding of the causes of that problem
Reflecting on the investigation

each investigation should be evaluated for what has been
learned about the topic investigated and what has been
learned about the process of investigation
12 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
Lessons
Lesson 1.1
The importance of springs
Outcome
Students recognise the environmental significance
of artesian springs and identify their cultural
significance to Indigenous Australians.
Background
The Great Artesian Basin is a huge system of
water-bearing sedimentary layers (aquifers)
confined between impervious layers (aquitards). In
places where the aquifers are exposed at the
surface, or where faults fracture the aquitards,
water leaks out and forms artesian springs.
Springs tend to occur in clusters known as spring
complexes, and these complexes are often part of
a more regional group known as a supergroup.
Before European settlement, the Great Artesian
Basin was essentially in balance: the amount of water
entering aquifers in the intake regions matched the
amount flowing from artesian springs scattered
throughout the Basin. These springs flowed
continually and were a reliable source of water in
times of drought. They supported a variety of wildlife,
but because of the poor water quality and sparse
food, the surrounding areas were not occupied
permanently by Indigenous people. They were
important for trade routes and feature in many
songlines.
Artesian springs are home to one form of
groundwater dependent ecosystem (GDE) – an
ecosystem whose composition, structure and
function rely on groundwater. Individual spring
groups are isolated, like islands in an archipelago
and, consequently, many of the species found
there are endemic to specific spring groups. These
ecosystems are very vulnerable to changes in
waterflow, and the maintenance of environmental
flows to springs is one of the great challenges of
managing the Great Artesian Basin sustainably.
Resources and preparation
Figures, graphs, maps and tables
Figure 1.1 Mound spring at Coward Springs
Figure 1.2 Aboriginal rock art at Carnarvon Gorge
Figure 1.3 Phragmites australis (the common reed)
Figure 1.4 Scaturiginichthys vermeilipinnis
(red-finned blue-eye)
Figure 1.5 Chlamydogobius squamigenus
(Edgbaston goby)
Figure 1.6 Eriocaulon carsonii (salt pipewort)
Figure 1.7 Eryngium fontanum (blue devil)
Figure 1.8 Sporobolus pamelae (spring dropseed)
Map 1.1 Australia showing artesian springs
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 1 | 13
Table 1.1 Environmental Protection Biodiversity
Conservation Act–listed species associated with
Great Artesian Basin discharge spring wetlands
ecological community
Video
Water Down Under: The Great Artesian Basin
Story (Can be accessed at www.environment.
gov.au. Go to ‘Water’, then ‘Publications and
resources’, then ‘Water for agriculture
publications’.)
Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water,
Population and Communities, The community of
native species dependent on natural discharge of
groundwater from the Great Artesian Basin,
Threatened species and ecological communities,
www.environment.gov.au/cgibin/sprat/public/publicshowcommunity.pl?id=26&st
atus=Endangered
National Water Commission: Groundwater
Dependent Ecosystems,
www.nwc.gov.au/www/html/225-groundwaterdependent-ecosystems.asp
References
Connected Water, Groundwater Dependent
Ecosystems,
www.connectedwater.gov.au/framework/ground_d
ependant_ecosystems.html
Department of Environment and Resource
Management, The State of Queensland 2010,
Recovery plan for the community of native species
dependent on natural discharge of groundwater
from the Great Artesian Basin,
www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/p
ublications/recovery/pubs/great-artesian-basinec.pdf
14 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
Lesson outline

Show students Figure 1.1. Ask them to compare the artesian springs with the surrounding
landscape. Ask students to suggest where the water comes from and outline briefly to the students
the nature of artesian springs.
© Commonwealth of Australia. Photograph by Allan
Figure 1.1 Mound spring at Coward Springs
© Commonwealth of Australia. Photograph by Angus Emmott

Play Chapter 2 of the video, Water Down
Under: The Great Artesian Basin Story
(preferably from the 4-minute mark). Ask
students to summarise why artesian
springs have been important to Indigenous
communities.

View photos of rock art (such as that
shown in Figure 1.2) and artefacts found
near artesian springs. Explain that many
Aboriginal songs and stories refer to
springs and how water can be found.
Discuss reasons for the importance of
springs in Aboriginal culture.
Figure 1.2 Aboriginal rock art at Carnarvon Gorge
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 1 | 15

Show students Figures 1.3–1.8 of organisms from artesian springs.
© Commonwealth of Australia
Photograph by Gunther E Schmida
Courtesy Murray-Darling Basin Authority
Photograph by John Kruger
Figure 1.3 Phragmites australis (the common reed)
Figure 1.4 Scaturiginichthys vermeilipinnis (red-finned
blue-eye)
© Commonwealth of Australia.
Photograph by Cameron Slatyer
© Commonwealth of Australia.
Photograph by Gunther E Schmida
Figure 1.5 Chlamydogobius squamigenus
(Edgbaston goby)
Figure 1.6 Eriocaulon carsonii (salt pipewort)
Photograph © Dr J Travis Columbus
© Commonwealth of Australia.
Photograph by John Baker
Figure 1.7 Eryngium fontanum (blue devil)
Figure 1.8 Sporobolus pamelae (spring dropseed)
16 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
Discuss the concept of groundwater dependent ecosystems. Show students Map 1.1. Point out that artesian
springs are similar to groups of islands scattered in the ocean (archipelagos). Most species cannot migrate
from island to island. Ask students to predict what this would mean for the distribution of plants and animals
among artesian springs.
Map 1.1 Australia showing artesian springs
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 1 | 17
•
Describe the limited distribution of some species endemic to artesian springs (see Table 1.1 below –
the conservation status comes from the Australian Government’s Environment Protection and
Biodiversity Conservation Act). Point out that many such species are endangered. Ask students to
debate the importance of saving these species from extinction.
Table 1.1 Environmental Protection Biodiversity Conservation Act–listed species associated with
Great Artesian Basin discharge spring wetlands ecological community
Scientific name
Common name
EPBC Act*
Occurrence
Animals
Scaturiginichthys
vermeilipinnis
red-finned blue-eye
E
1 complex in the Barcaldine,
Queensland supergroup
Chlamydogobius
micropterus
Elizabeth Springs goby
E
1 complex in the Springvale,
Queensland supergroup
Chlamydogobius
squamigenus
Edgbaston goby
V
1 complex in the Barcaldine,
Queensland supergroup
Eriocaulon carsonii
salt pipewort
E
20 complexes (Queensland, New
South Wales, South Australia) plus 2
Qld non-GAB springs
Eryngium fontanum
blue devil
E
2 complexes in the Barcaldine,
Queensland supergroup
Sporobolus pamelae
spring dropseed
_
6 complexes; Barcaldine and Eulo,
Queensland supergroups
Plants
* CE: Critically endangered; E: Endangered; V: Vulnerable
Note: Artesian springs are often found in groups called complexes, and these are usually part of larger
regional supergroups.
Adapted from Recovery Plan for the Community of Native Species Dependent on Natural Discharge of Groundwater from the Great
Artesian Basin, Department of Environment and Resource Management, The State of Queensland, 2010, page 6,
www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/recovery/pubs/great-artesian-basin-ec.pdf
18 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
 : As a summarising activity, ask students to
imagine they are representing a community
whose local authority area encompasses an
artesian spring complex. A planned tourist
resort in the district could possibly interfere
with the flow of water to the springs, and the
community needs to show how important it is
to retain them in their natural state. The task
is to prepare a list of statements
demonstrating the environmental and
cultural significance of the springs to the
community.
Further student tasks
 In times of drought, Indigenous people found
refuge in artesian springs. During wetter
times, they moved away from the springs
and found food across the wider landscape.
Explain how this shows that they were
managing the environment wisely.
 Indigenous people traded ochre, stone
implements, bailer shells and pituri. They
used trade routes covering thousands of
kilometres. Describe how artesian springs
would have assisted these trade routes.
 Table 1.1 on page 18 shows some plants and
fish that are found only in wetlands. It shows
how many different places each species is
found in. (Individual springs are often found in
groups called ‘complexes’. Complexes are
often further grouped into ‘supergroups’. Map
1.1 shows the names of the supergroups).
Which are more widely spread – the plants or
the fish? Suggest some reasons for the
difference in spread.
 The spring dropseed grass, Sporobolus
pamelae in Figure 1.8 is not listed as
threatened under the national EPBC Act. Its
seeds were used as food by Indigenous
people. In which part of the country would this
grass have been available? What is its
conservation status in that state?
 The common reed, Phragmites australis, in
Figure 1.3 is widespread in wetlands, including
artesian springs. Find out about this plant and
how it was used by Indigenous Australians.
Developing vocabulary
Create visual representations of terms that
students come across in their inquiry that are
unfamiliar and require further explanation. One
idea could be to have an individual term (ie
‘aquitard’) on the front of a card and its meaning
on the back (ie ‘A layer of rock that does not allow
water to pass through’). These cards could hang
down from string. Alternatively, individual cards
could have both the term and its description on the
front and they could be stuck to a wall.
Another option is to provide students in pairs with
an unfamiliar word and using a graphic organiser
with the word written in the centre, establish a
definition, characteristics and a relevant example
and non-example. See the model below.
Unfamiliar terms may include underlined glossary
terms
Definition
Characteristics
Examples
Non-examples
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 1 | 19
Lesson 1.2
Mapping the Great Artesian Basin
Resources and preparation
Figures, graphs, maps and tables
Map 1.2 Australia showing rivers
Outcome
Map 1.3 Australia showing average annual rainfall
Students identify the extent of the Great Artesian
Basin and recognise its significance in settlement
patterns.
Background
The Great Artesian Basin underlies 1.7 million
square kilometres, or 22 per cent, of the Australian
continent. Over this extent, there are large
variations in climate and topography, but much of
the land is flat and arid. Artesian springs were vital
to Indigenous people and early settlers, but the full
extent of the Basin was not realised until settlers
began to sink bores and succeeded in finding
artesian water over a vast area.
Bores are shafts drilled into the earth. The first
bore in the Great Artesian Basin was drilled near
Bourke, NSW, in 1878. Further discoveries were
made in 1886 east of Barcaldine, Qld, and in 1887
near Cunnamulla, Qld. By 1915, more than 1,500
artesian bores had been drilled throughout the
Basin and currently there are over 4,500. Vast
amounts of previously arid land were opened up to
settlement and industry.
Map 1.4 Australia showing artesian springs
Map 1.5 Australia showing Aboriginal trackways
Map 1.6 Australia showing the overland telegraph
network
Map 1.7 Australia showing Great Artesian Basin
boundary
Reference
The Overland Telegraph,
http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/ov
erlandtelegraph
Lesson outline

Provide Map 1.2, and identify the regions
where streams are not permanent. Ask why
this is so and discuss the implications for
Indigenous people and early settlers.
20 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
Map 1.2 Australia showing rivers
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 1 | 21
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia License, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au
Map © Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia) 2011.
22 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior

Provide Map 1.3, which shows isohyets for average yearly rainfall. Using Map 1.2 and Map 1.3, find the
areas that have both few permanent streams and low rainfall. Again, discuss the implications for
inhabitants.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2011, Bureau of Meteorology
Map 1.3 Australia showing average annual rainfall
Projection: Lambert conformal with standard parallels 10° S, 40° S.
Based on a standard 30-year climatology (1961–1990).
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 1 | 23

Provide Map 1.4. Discuss how knowledge of the artesian springs would have helped the survival of
Aboriginal people. Ask how the discovery of artesian springs would have been perceived by early
settlers looking for farmland. What issues could have arisen when they began to use the resource?
Map 1.4 Australia showing artesian springs
24 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior

Provide Map 1.5. Using Map 1.4 and Map 1.5, discuss the extent to which Aboriginal trade routes could
have utilised artesian springs. Do the trade routes seem to converge at spring locations?
© Oceania Publications, University of Sydney
Map 1.5 Australia showing Aboriginal trackways
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 1 | 25

Provide Map 1.6. Using Map 1.4 and Map 1.6, discuss the importance of the Overland Telegraph line,
and how its construction in 1870–1872 was helped by the existence of springs. Locate those sections
of the line which were obviously dependent on artesian springs and ask students to suggest how water
might have been obtained in the other sections.
Map 1.6 Australia showing the overland telegraph network
26 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior

Provide Map 1.7. Explain that this map shows the area which is underlain by artesian aquifers,
so that flowing water can be obtained by drilling. Discuss the ways in which the discovery of an
artesian basin of this size would have influenced settlement patterns.
Map 1.7 Australia showing Great Artesian Basin boundary
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 1 | 27

Ask students to look for patterns in the maps
and answer the following questions:
–
As an estimate, what fraction of Australia
lies over the Great Artesian Basin?
–
Which part of the dry interior cannot benefit
from Great Artesian Basin artesian water?
How does the number of towns in this part
of the country compare with the number in
the Great Artesian Basin?
–
The springs are not scattered uniformly over
the Basin. Describe where the main groups
are, relative to the Basin boundaries.
Suggest why this happens.
–
To strike artesian water, wells need to be
drilled deeper in the central part of the
Basin than near the edges. Suggest a
reason for this.
–
Artesian water is hot and travels a long way
through rock. As it flows, it dissolves
minerals from the rock. Water with some
dissolved minerals is tolerated by livestock,
but it cannot be used to irrigate crops. In
general, water in the south-west of the Great
Artesian Basin has more dissolved minerals
than elsewhere. Predict how this would
affect the patterns of agriculture across the
Basin. Try to find out how accurate your
prediction is. (You can go to the Australian
Land Use Map for help
Developing vocabulary
Add any unfamiliar terms to the word hanging,
word wall or graphic organiser. Ensure students
have a good understanding of the underlined
glossary terms.
Definition
Characteristics
Examples
Non-examples
http://adl.brs.gov.au/mapserv/landuse/inde
x.cfm.)
28 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
Lesson 1.3
The value of artesian water –
a local study
Outcome
Students carry out research and produce a poster
or presentation to communicate the importance of
artesian water to a community in arid Australia.
Background
The drilling of the first artesian bore in 1897
initiated a wave of occupation and settlement into
the arid interior. Access to water allowed pastoral
industries to expand and towns to develop. Other
industries followed. Today, total value of
production supported by Great Artesian Basin
water is about $3.5 billion per annum.
Access to artesian water has changed the
environmental, cultural and social makeup of inland
regions. Complex communities have been
established, which depend on the resources and
income made possible by the Great Artesian Basin.
Indigenous cultural traditions have been joined by
those of the settlers. Ecosystems which once were
adapted to scarce water resources and sparse
populations have been modified. To ensure that the
diverse values associated with these communities
survive, the Basin needs to be managed carefully and
sustainably.
Resources and preparation
Video
Water Down Under: The Great Artesian Basin
Story (Can be accessed at www.environment.
gov.au. Go to ‘Water’, then ‘Publications and
resources’, then ‘Water for agriculture
publications’.)
Student worksheet/handout
Student worksheet 1.1 The value of artesian
water – a local study
Student handout 1.2 ‘Song of the artesian water’
References
GAB Consultative Council 1998, Chapter 3: Values
associated with the groundwater resource, GAB
Resource Study,
www.gabcc.org.au/public/content/ViewCategory.as
px?id=41
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 1 | 29
Lesson outline
Developing vocabulary
In this activity, students carry out research to learn
about the importance of artesian water to an
outback community and incorporate their research
into a poster or multimedia presentation. A method
is outlined in Student worksheet 1.1.
Add any unfamiliar terms to the word hanging,
word wall or graphic organiser.
Definition
Characteristics
Examples
Non-examples
Suggested local government areas for this activity
are: Boulia, Qld (major town, Boulia), Qld; Bulloo,
Qld (major town, Thargomindah); Paroo, Qld
(major town, Cunnamulla); Coober Pedy, SA
(major town, Coober Pedy); Roxby Downs, SA
(major town, Roxby Downs); Bourke, NSW (major
town, Bourke); Brewarrina, NSW (major town,
Brewarrina).
A good way to introduce the lesson would be to
show Chapter 4 of the video Water Down Under:
The Great Artesian Basin Story. Alternatively, read
Banjo Paterson’s poem ‘Song of the artesian
water’ on Student handout 1.2.
30 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
Student worksheet 1.1
The value of artesian water – a local study
The task: You are required to produce a poster or
a presentation showing how important artesian
water is to a local community.

Visit the website of endangered spring
communities to locate important springs in the
area http://www.environment.gov.au/cgibin/sprat/public/publicshowcommunity.pl?id=2
6&status%20=Endangered. If these springs
are protected in a reserve or national park,
you may be able to find more information
about them.

Find out whether there are any mines in this
area by visiting the Australian Mines Atlas
www.australianminesatlas.gov.au. If so, identify
a mine near the town and try to find out whether
it makes use of artesian water.

Visit the Australian Land Use Map to find out
what agricultural industries exist in the region
http://adl.brs.gov.au/mapserv/landuse/index.cfm
. What water resources are used by these
industries?

Carry out a search at Australia.com to find out
about tourist attractions in the area www.
australia.com. Do they depend on artesian
bores or springs?

Try to identify what each user needs water for,
and how much it depends on artesian water.

Design a poster or presentation to tell outsiders
how crucial artesian water is to the community
you have chosen. Mention important aspects of
the local culture, economy and environment.
Make sure to point out how the Great Artesian
Basin is vital to them.
Suggested steps
 Your teacher will help you select a town from
an arid area in the Great Artesian Basin. Visit
the local government website http://australia.
gov.au/topics/government-and-parliament/
local-government to find the website of the
local government authority. From this, gather
facts about the locality. Look for information
about climate, landscape and industries as well
as photographs of the local area.


Local information on climate can be obtained from
Climate Data Online
http://www.bom.gov.au/%20climate/data
Summarise the climate and environmental
conditions for the area – rainfall, temperatures,
evaporation, riverflow etc.
Make a list of the different types of water users in
the region. Your list should include traditional
owners, ecological communities and towns as well
as industries such as agriculture, mining, tourism
etc. You can find these from the local government
website above and census data. Census data for
the local area can be found in ‘Community
profiles’ at the Australian Bureau of Statistics
www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/pren
av/ProductSelect . If your locality is in
Queensland, Appendix 1 of the GAB
Hydrogeological Framework Report will help:
www.derm.qld.gov.au/wrp/pdf/gab/gabhydrogeological-framework-report.pdf.
31 | Water in the dry interior The Great Artesian Basin
Student handout 1.2
‘Song of the artesian water’
Now the stock have started dying, for the Lord has sent a drought,
But we’re sick of prayers and Providence – we’re going to do without,
With the derricks up above us and the solid earth below,
We are waiting at the lever for the word to let her go.
Sinking down, deeper down,
Oh, we’ll sink it deeper down:
As the drill is plugging downward at a thousand feet of level,
If the Lord won’t send us water, oh, we’ll get it from the devil;
Yes, we’ll get it from the devil deeper down.
Now, our engine’s built in Glasgow by a very canny Scot,
And he marked it twenty horse-power, but he don’t know what is what.
When Canadian Bill is firing with the sun-dried gidgee logs,
She can equal thirty horses and a score or so of dogs.
Sinking down, deeper down,
Oh, we’re going deeper down:
If we fail to get the water, then it’s ruin to the squatter,
For the drought is on the station and the weather’s growing hotter,
But we’re bound to get the water deeper down.
But the shaft has started caving and the sinking’s very slow,
And the yellow rods are bending in the water down below,
And the tubes are always jamming, and they can’t be made to shift
Till we nearly burst the engine with a forty horse-power lift.
Sinking down, deeper down,
Oh, we’re going deeper down:
Though the shaft is always caving, and the tubes are always jamming,
Yet we’ll fight our way to water while the stubborn drill is ramming –
While the stubborn drill is ramming deeper down.
32 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
Student handout 1.2
‘Song of the artesian water’
But there’s no artesian water, though we’ve passed three thousand feet,
And the contract price is growing, and the boss is nearly beat.
But it must be down beneath us, and it’s down we’ve got to go,
Though she’s bumping on the solid rock four thousand feet below.
Sinking down, deeper down,
Oh, we’re going deeper down:
And it’s time they heard us knocking on the roof of Satan’s dwellin’,
But we’ll get artesian water if we cave the roof of hell in –
Oh we’ll get artesian water deeper down.
But it’s hark! the whistle’s blowing with a wild, exultant blast,
And the boys are madly cheering, for they’ve struck the flow at last;
And it’s rushing up the tubing from four thousand feet below,
Till it spouts above the casing in a million-gallon flow.
And it’s down, deeper down –
Oh, it comes from deeper down;
It is flowing, ever flowing, in a free, unstinted measure
From the silent hidden places where the old earth hides her treasure –
Where the old earth hides her treasures deeper down.
And it’s clear away the timber, and it’s let the water run:
How it glimmers in the shadow, how it flashes in the sun!
By the silent bells of timber, by the miles of blazing plain
It is bringing hope and comfort to the thirsty land again.
Flowing down, further down;
It is flowing deeper down
To the tortured thirsty cattle, bringing gladness in its going;
Through the droughty days of summer it is flowing, ever flowing –
It is flowing, ever flowing, further down.
Banjo Paterson
Song of the Artesian Water (1896)
by Banjo Paterson
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 1 | 33
INVESTIGATION 2
How does the Great Artesian Basin work?
Overview
The Great Artesian Basin is a vast underground
water reservoir lying beneath one-fifth of the
Australian continent. It consists of a system of
sedimentary layers which were laid down over
millions of years. Water can flow through the
permeable layers (aquifers), remaining confined by
impermeable layers (aquitards) until it escapes
through springs or bores. There is continual
replenishment of water at the intake beds on the
edges of the basin, where the permeable layers
are exposed to the surface. The sustainability of
the system depends on matching water extraction
to water intake.
Artesian water is found within a layer of porous
rock called an aquifer. The water remains confined
by the aquitards, above and below. The aquifer is
recharged by rainfall and surface water, which
enters intake beds near the edge of the basin.
The aquifer slopes down away from the intake
areas, and the water in the lower parts of the
aquifer is under pressure from the weight of the
water above. When the aquifer is tapped by a
bore, the pressure causes the water to rise and
flow freely to the surface. The level to which
artesian water will rise over an area is known as
the potentiometric surface. The maximum height of
the potentiometric surface in the Great Artesian
Basin is 130 metres above ground level. Refer to
Figure 2.1 on page 40. As more wells have been
drilled into the aquifers of the Great Artesian
Basin, the pressure has dropped. About one-third
of the wells no longer flow freely and require
pumping. The reduction in pressure is also felt as
a decrease in flow at artesian springs.
34 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
Australian Curriculum links
Science – Year 7
Science Understanding
Science as a Human
Endeavour
Science Inquiry Skills
Earth and space sciences
Use and influence of
science
Planning and conducting
 Some of Earth’s resources are
renewable, but others are
nonrenewable
 Water is an important resource
that cycles through the
environment
 Science and technology
contribute to finding
solutions to a range of
contemporary issues;
these solutions may impact
on other areas of society
and involve ethical
considerations
 Science understanding
influences the development
of practices in areas of
human activity such as
industry, agriculture and
marine and terrestrial
resource management
 Collaboratively and individually plan
and conduct a range of investigation
types, including fieldwork and
experiments, ensuring safety and
ethical guidelines are followed
 In fair tests, measure and control
variables, and select equipment to
collect data with accuracy
appropriate to the task
Processing and analysing data and
information
 Construct and use a range of
representations, including graphs,
keys and models to represent and
analyse patterns or relationships,
including using digital technologies
as appropriate
 Summarise data, from students’ own
investigations and secondary
sources, and use scientific
understanding to identify
relationships and draw conclusions
Evaluating
 Reflect on the method used to
investigate a question or solve a
problem, including evaluating the
quality of the data collected, and
identify improvements to the method
 Use scientific knowledge and findings
from investigations to evaluate claims
Communicating
 Communicate ideas, findings and
solutions to problems using scientific
language and representations using
digital technologies as appropriate
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 2 | 35
Geography (from Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Geography)
Geographical knowledge and
understanding
Weather and water

Developing a geographical question

Year 7

Geographical inquiry and skills
the hydrologic cycle describes the
movement of water between the
atmosphere, land and oceans
water is a difficult resource to
manage because it is integrated
into environmental systems in
complex ways, can be highly
variable over time and across
space, and has many competing
uses
observation can lead to questions for investigation
Planning a geographical inquiry

some geographical features can be explained by cause and
effect relationships with other places
Collection, evaluating and managing information

primary and secondary data must be evaluated for accuracy
and bias before being analysed
Making sense of the information

mapping the spatial distribution of a characteristic such as
rainfall, can be a first step in developing an understanding
of that characteristic and suggesting possible causal
relationships
36 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
Lessons
Lesson 2.1
How the Great Artesian Basin works
Outcome
Background
Students describe the structure and functioning of
the Great Artesian Basin and explain how it can
operate as a sustainable water resource.
The following extract is from the Queensland
Government’s Hydrogeological Framework Report
for the Great Artesian Basin Water Resource Plan
Area, 2005.
The GAB is one of the largest artesian groundwater basins in the world. It underlies approximately one-fifth
of Australia and extends beneath arid and semi-arid regions of Queensland, New South Wales, South
Australia and the Northern Territory, stretching from east of the Great Dividing Range to the Lake Eyre
depression. The Basin has an estimated total water storage of 65 000 million megalitres.
The GAB was formed between 100 and 250 million years ago, and consists of alternating layers of waterbearing (permeable) sandstone aquifers and non-water-bearing (impermeable) siltstones and mudstones.
The thickness of this sequence varies from less than 100 m on the Basin extremities to over 3000 m in the
deeper parts of the Basin. Individual bore depths vary up to 2000 m with the average being 500 m.
The aquifers are recharged by infiltration of rainfall, and leakage from streams, into outcropping sandstone
mainly on the eastern margins of the Basin along the Great Dividing Range. Groundwater flows naturally,
because of gravity, from these recharge areas toward springs in the west and southwest. In the north, it
flows to the north and northwest. Groundwater moves slowly through the GAB, at about 1–5 m per year. In
some parts, the water is two million years old.
[...]
Many artesian bores initially flowed at rates of over 3000 megalitres per year (ML/a), but pressure and bore
and spring discharge rates have declined, while the number of bores has increased. Water users realised as
long ago as 1891 that their bore flow rates were falling indicating a fall in artesian pressure. Many artesian
bores have flows of between 3 and 2000 ML/a (GABCC, 1998), and some have ceased to flow.
Use of the extract from the Queensland Government’s Hydrogeological Framework Report on the Great Artesian Basin Water Resource Plan Area (2005)
was approved by the Department of Environment and Resource Management Queensland, 2011
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 2 | 37
Resources and preparation
Materials
Figures, graphs, maps and tables
Samples of sandstone, shale, mudstone, siltstone;
hand lenses; eyedroppers; water in containers
Figure 2.1 Generalised cross-section of the Great
Artesian Basin
Student worksheet/handouts
Map 2.1 The Great Artesian Basin
Student handout 2.1 Geological history of the
Great Artesian Basin
Video
Water Down under: The Great Artesian Basin
Story (Can be accessed at
www.environment.gov.au. Go to ‘Water’, then
‘Publications and resources’, then ‘Water for
agriculture publications’.)
Student handout 2.2 Some facts about the Great
Artesian Basin
Student handout 2.3 Flow of water in the Great
Artesian Basin in the early 21st century
Student worksheet 2.4 Flow of water in the Great
Artesian Basin – three scenarios
38 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
Lesson outline
 Ask students to describe their mental picture of
underground water. Some will probably have the
concept of underground lakes or rivers. Discuss
this picture and any others that arise, and look for
characteristics that could be used to test them. For
example, water from underground lakes would not
flow spontaneously to the surface.
 Distribute the rock samples, hand lenses,
eyedroppers and water. Ask students to examine
the rocks carefully with the hand lens and describe
any differences they can see. Then ask students to
test each sample so that it shows a flat, horizontal
surface, place one drop of water onto this surface
and observe carefully. Introduce the terms
‘permeable’ and ‘impermeable’ and discuss the
following:
– Which rocks are permeable and which are
impermeable?
– What is it about permeable rocks that allow
water to flow through them?
– Where are the main intake beds for the Great
Artesian Basin? How are they related to the
aquifers?
– Provide Student handout 2.2. The Great
Artesian Basin holds about 65,000 million
megalitres of water. How many litres is this?
How many gigalitres? An Olympic swimming
pool holds at least 2.5 megalitres of water;
how many such pools could be filled by all the
water in the Great Artesian Basin?
 Show students Map 2.1 and discuss the
following:
– In which direction(s) does water flow in the
Great Artesian Basin? How is this flow related
to springs? How would the springs located
near intake areas differ from those in arid
areas?
– Water flowing out of some springs in the southwest of the Basin has been in the aquifer for
about 2 million years. Use the scale on the map
to estimate the distance it has travelled, then
calculate how far the water travels each year.
– Could anything happen to impermeable rocks to
allow them to carry water?
 Show the first four minutes of Chapter 2 of the
Water Down Under video and provide Student
handout 2.1. Discuss the following:
– There are layers of permeable rock
interbedded with impermeable rock in the
Great Artesian Basin. How were they formed?
How does this arrangement help the transport
of water?
– What is an aquifer? What properties should a
rock have if it is to be an aquifer?
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 2 | 39
Map 2.1 The Great Artesian Basin
40 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
 Show students Figure 2.1 and discuss the
following:
– Why is the water in artesian aquifers under
pressure?
– What is the potentiometric surface? How can
it be used to predict whether a bore will be
sub-artesian or artesian?
– Describe three different circumstances in
which water from an artesian aquifer can flow
to the surface.
– Some people believe that the Great Artesian
Basin contains a gigantic underground lake.
How could they be convinced that this idea
is incorrect? (Note to teachers: water from an
underground lake would need to be pumped
out. This is not the case with artesian water.)
 Distribute Student handout 2.3, which contains
some hypothetical figures of distribution of
water in the Basin. These figures could
represent roughly the distribution in the early
21st century.
 Ask students to transfer these figures to the
first diagram in Student worksheet 2.4 and
have them work out whether the waterflow is in
balance under these conditions. Discuss the
implications of the fact that the waterflow is not
in balance.
Figure 2.1 Generalised cross-section of the Great Artesian Basin
Use of the generalised cross-section of the Great Artesian Basin was approved by the Department of Environment and Resource Management, Queensland, 2011
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 2 | 41
 Finally, ask students to complete the second
and third diagrams in Student worksheet 2.4
and answer the questions.
– In both cases, the recharge at intake beds
would be 1,000,000 megalitres per year, and
for the Basin to be in balance, total outflows
must be the same. The leakage to the sea
can be regarded as constant, at 10,000
megalitres per year in both cases.
– For the second diagram (pre-European
settlement), the flow through bores will be
zero. The discharge from springs can be
taken as 200,000 megalitres per year (about
four times the present rate). Students need to
calculate the figure for upward leakage that
would result in balanced waterflow.
– For the third diagram, the sustainable flow
from bores has been estimated at 450,000
megalitres per year. The total figure for
upward leakage and discharge at the springs
must be calculated to result in a balanced
flow. Students have no way of calculating
separate values for each of these, so a range
of values is possible. They should realise that
each figure will be less than it was 250 years
ago, but greater than it is under the present
unbalanced conditions.
Developing vocabulary
Create visual representations of terms that
students come across in their inquiry that are
unfamiliar and require further explanation. One
idea could be to have an individual term (i.e.
‘aquitard’) on the front of a card and its meaning
on the back (i.e. ‘A layer of rock that does not
allow water to pass through’). These cards could
hang down from string. Alternatively, individual
cards could have both the term and its description
on the front and they could be stuck to a wall.
Another option is to provide students in pairs with
an unfamiliar word and using a graphic organiser
with the word written in the centre, establish a
definition, characteristics and a relevant example
and non-example. See the model below.
Unfamiliar terms may include the underlined
glossary items.
Definition
Characteristics
Examples
Non-examples
42 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
Student handout 2.1
Geological history of the Great Artesian Basin
66 million Period
years ago
Cretaceous
144 million
years ago
Geological events
Type of rock deposited
Uplift of Great Dividing Range exposes intake
beds
Sea retreats; deposition in lakes and rivers
sandstones
Shallow sea returns over most of basin
mudstones (impervious)
Antarctica and Australia begin to separate
Jurassic
213 million
years ago
Highlands eroded; sand, gravel and clays
deposited by rivers
Sandstones interbedded with
mudstone
Uplift of basin margins
Mostly impermeable base
rocks
Triassic
248 million
years ago
Permian
Australia and Antarctica begin separating from
Gondwana
Australian landmass part of Gondwana
Note: The arrows indicate that the erosion of the highlands and deposition of gravel and clays by rivers extended over
the whole Jurassic Period. This is in contrast to other events in the sequence, which had limited timespans (eg, the
uplift of the basin margins was confined to late in the Triassic Period).
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 2 | 43
Student handout 2.2
Some facts about the Great Artesian Basin
Area
1.7 million square kilometres (one-fifth of the continent)
Maximum depth
3,000 metres
Volume of water stored
65,000 million megalitres
Age of water
Up to 2 million years
Rainfall recharge
1 million megalitres per year
Maximum pressure
1,300 kilopascals
Temperature of water
Average 30–50 degrees Celsius; maximum 100 degrees Celsius
Average groundwater velocity
1–5 metres per year
Use of the extract from the Queensland Government’s Hydrogeological Framework report on the Great Artesian Basin Water Resource Plan Area (2005)
was approved by the Department of Environment and Resource Management, Queensland, 2011
44 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
Student handout 2.3
Flow of water in the Great Artesian Basin in the early 21st century
Total volume of water in the Great Artesian Basin
65,000,000,000 megalitres
Recharge at intake beds
1,000,000 megalitres per year
Upward leakage (to water table and soil)
400,000 megalitres per year
Discharge through bores
550,000 megalitres per year
Discharge at springs
50,000 megalitres per year
Leakage to sea (in the Gulf of Carpentaria)
10,000 megalitres per year
Figures interpolated from Review of Recharge Mechanisms for the Great Artesian Basin, 2007, www.gabcc.org.au/public/content/ViewItem.aspx?id=159 ; GAB
transient groundwater model, 2006, http://adl.brs.gov.au/brsShop/data/gabtransient1.pdf and GAB Resource Study, 1998,
www.gabcc.org.au/public/content/ViewCategory.aspx?id=41
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 2 | 45
Student worksheet 2.3
Flow of water in the Great Artesian Basin – three scenarios
Early 21st-century conditions
Conditions 250 years ago (before wells): assuming spring discharge was 200,000 ML/yr
Sustainable future conditions; assuming sustainable flow from bores is 450,000 megalitres per year
What steps must be taken to move from the conditions in the top diagram to those in the bottom?
What difference would this make to the environment in the Great Artesian Basin
46 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
Lessons
Lesson outline
Lesson 2.2
Investigating artesian pressure
 Find a grassed area or other location where
some water leakage can be accommodated.
Hold both ends of the tubing up and fill with
water through the funnel.
Outcome
 Force a wad of cottonwool tightly into the open
end of the tubing so that it is held firmly.
Students identify the source of artesian pressure
and explain its relationship to well-drilling by
operating a model.
Materials
 Have a student hold the funnel end at waist
height and lay the rest of the tubing on the
ground with the gaffer tape seals facing
upward. Raise the end without the funnel about
15 centimetres and support with bricks or
blocks. Point out that some water continues to
seep through the cottonwool.
Three-metre length of 25 millimetre diameter
plastic tubing or garden hose, cotton wool, large
funnel, battery-powered drill, 1 millimetre drill bit,
gaffer tape, large container of water, bricks or
wooden blocks, metre rule or tape measure.
 Pour more water into the funnel to replace any
leakage. Place another wad of cottonwool
firmly into the apex of the funnel. Add more
water so that there is about 10 centimetres of
water in the funnel.
Resources and preparation
1. Lay the plastic tubing flat and, starting 50
centimetres from one end, drill 10 holes at 10
centimetre intervals though the top (don’t drill
right through to the bottom surface). Cover
each hole securely with a patch of gaffer tape –
if you fold one edge of each patch under, it will
be easier to remove later.
2. Fit the spout of the funnel into the end of the
tubing furthest from the holes and seal with
tape to make airtight.
Student worksheet
Student worksheet 2.5 Investigating artesian water
– data sheet
Model of artesian pressure
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 2 | 47
 Ask students how this arrangement serves as a
model for an artesian basin. Discuss the intake
beds, aquifer, aquitards and spring. Also
discuss aspects of the model that do not
represent an artesian basin well, such as the
fact that the aquifer is not made of porous rock.
 Simulate drilling a well by removing the tape
sealing a hole midway along the tubing. Ask a
student to measure and record the height of the
resulting jet of water. Compare this with the
height above ground of the water in the funnel.
Continue to replenish water in the funnel as
necessary. (Note: If the seal between the
funnel and tube is not airtight, air will leak into
the tube at this stage and alter the head of
pressure, meaning this variable will no longer
be controlled.)
 Successively remove further tape patches,
each time measuring and recording the heights
of all jets of water. Observe any changes that
can be seen in the amount of water seeping
through the cottonwool.
 Ask students to summarise their findings and
come to a conclusion about the effects of
drilling too many wells in an artesian basin.
 Describe what would happen to the ‘wells’ if the
level of water in the funnel could not keep up
with the water lost from the wells.
 Describe how this model could be improved or
modified to represent an artesian basin better.
 Some people think that artesian water comes
from huge underground lakes. Use your
findings from this model to argue against that
idea.
 Explain the role of the cottonwool plug at the
end of the tubing. Would it be possible for
seepage of water through this plug to stop
altogether?
Developing vocabulary
Add any unfamiliar terms to the word hanging,
word wall or graphic organiser. Ensure students
have a good understanding of the underlined
glossary terms.
Definition
Characteristics
Examples
Non-examples
Further student tasks
 Make up two lists. In the first list, describe
features of this model that are like a real
artesian basin; in the second, list points of
difference.
 Explain what happened to the pressure in the
‘aquifer’ as more ‘wells’ were drilled. Describe
any evidence for this that you saw from the
modelling activity.
48 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
Student worksheet 2.5
Investigating artesian water – data sheet
Number
of open
wells
Height of each jet (centimetres)
Well 1
Well 2
Well 3
Well 4
Well 5
Well 6
Well 7
Well 8
Well 9
Well 10
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 3 | 49
INVESTIGATION 3
What impacts have humans had on the Great Artesian Basin?
Introduction
The first artesian bore of the Great Artesian Basin
was sunk in 1878. Within 30 years, there were
1,500 and now there are over 4,500. European
settlers imagined that supplies of artesian water
were inexhaustible, and thus undervalued it. So
many wells were drilled and allowed to flow freely
that pressure over the Great Artesian Basin
dropped, and many bores and springs have
ceased flowing. Poorly maintained, open wells and
drains result in wastage of water through
evaporation and allow feral animals and weeds to
spread, damaging the environment. This
exploitation of the resource was not sustainable.
Historically, uncapped wells were common and
water was distributed through open drains. Around
90 per cent of water in such drains is wasted
through evaporation and seepage. And the
introduction of permanent water into arid
landscapes has important environmental
consequences. It meant that the land could easily
be overgrazed, and that weeds, pests and feral
animals could flourish. Early in the 20th century it
became obvious that the resource was being
exploited unsustainably and that the wastage must
be stopped.
In the early days of artesian wells, many bores flowed
at rates of over 10 megalitres per day. Now, most
flow at between 0.01 and 6 megalitres per day.
Pressure and flow rate have decreased as more wells
have been drilled, and about one-third of the wells
that were artesian when drilled have now ceased to
flow and require pumping. In arid regions, the flow of
80 per cent of natural springs has ceased or severely
declined.
50 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
Australian Curriculum Links
Science – Year 7
Science Understanding
Science as a Human
Endeavour
Science Inquiry Skills
Biological sciences
Nature and development of
science
Processing and analysing data and
information
 Scientific knowledge
changes as new evidence
becomes available, and
some scientific discoveries
have significantly changed
people’s understanding of
the world
 Construct and use a range of
representations, including graphs,
keys and models to represent and
analyse patterns or relationships,
including using digital technologies
as appropriate
 Summarise data, from students’ own
investigations and secondary
sources, and use scientific
understanding to identify
relationships and draw conclusions
 Interactions between
organisms can be described in
terms of food chains and food
webs; human activity can
affect these interactions
Earth and space sciences
 Water is an important resource
that cycles through the
environment
Use and influence of
science
 Science and technology
contribute to finding
solutions to a range of
contemporary issues;
these solutions may impact
on other areas of society
and involve ethical
considerations
 Science understanding
influences the development
of practices in areas of
human activity such as
industry, agriculture and
marine and terrestrial
resource management
Evaluating
 Use scientific knowledge and findings
from investigations to evaluate claims
Communicating
 Communicate ideas, findings and
solutions to problems using scientific
language and representations using
digital technologies as appropriate
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 3 | 51
Geography (from Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Geography)
Geographical knowledge and
understanding
Weather and water


Developing a geographical question

Year 7

Geographical inquiry and skills
the hydrologic cycle describes the
movement of water between the
atmosphere, land and oceans
weather can be a hazard, but the
risks can be reduced through
human adjustment to the
conditions presented
water is a difficult resource to
manage because it is integrated
into environmental systems in
complex ways, can be highly
variable over time and across
space, and has many competing
uses
observation can lead to questions for investigation
Planning a geographical inquiry

some geographical features can be explained by cause and
effect relationships with other places
Collection, evaluating and managing information

primary and secondary data must be evaluated for accuracy
and bias before being analysed
Making sense of the information

mapping the spatial distribution of a characteristic such as
rainfall, can be a first step in developing an understanding
of that characteristic and suggesting possible causal
relationships
Communicating

each type of communication has conventions that should
usually be followed for communication to be effective
Planning and implementing actions

finding a way of resolving a problem depends on an
understanding of the causes of that problem
Reflecting on the investigation

each investigation should be evaluated for what has been
learned about the topic investigated and what has been
learned about the process of investigation
52 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
Lesson/case study
Lesson outline
 Show students Figures 3.1–3.4. Discuss the
environmental significance of each.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2011.
Photograph by Nicole James
Lesson 3.1
What’s happened to the Great
Artesian Basin?
Outcome
Students investigate human impacts on the Great
Artesian Basin and identify issues affecting
sustainability of land and water use.
Resources and preparation
Figures, graphs, maps and tables
Figure 3.1 Uncapped bore and bore drain
Figure 3.2 Bore drain and weeds
Figure 3.3 Pig damage around bore drain
Figure 3.1 Uncapped bore and bore drain
Figure 3.4 Drought conditions with stock being fed
Figure 3.5 Comparison of 1880 and 1970
estimated heads above ground
Graph 3.1 History of artesian bore flow in the
Great Artesian Basin
Student handout/worksheet
Student handout 3.1 Consequences of artesian
bores
Student worksheet 3.2 Problems with artesian bores
Figure 3.2 Bore drain and weeds
© Commonwealth of Australia
Photograph by Rod Fensham
Figure 3.3 Pig damage around bore drain
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 3 | 53
© Commonwealth of Australia. Graph courtesy of the GABCC
Graph 3.1 History of artesian bore flow in the Great Artesian Basin
Photograph © Darren J Clark
Figure 3.4 Drought conditions with stock being fed
 Point out that when settlers first found they
could tap into the resources of the Great
Artesian Basin, they imagined that it would be
inexhaustible. The water did not need to be
pumped, but flowed freely to the surface,
sometimes under great pressure. Show
students Graph 3.1 and ask them to answer the
following questions:
–
In what year was the flow rate of water
from artesian bores at its greatest?
–
What has happened to the flow rate since
that year?
–
Since that year, what has happened to the
number of flowing bores?
–
Considering the answers to these
questions, what must have happened to
the flow rate from each bore?
–
Approximately what fraction of bores
drilled is no longer flowing? Does this
mean they cannot supply water?
–
Is it true that artesian water cannot run
out?
54 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
© Commonwealth of Australia. Map courtesy of the GABCC
Figure 3.5 Comparison of 1880 and 1970 estimated heads above ground

Show Figure 3.5 and discuss what it shows.
(‘Head above ground’, or artesian head, refers
to the height of the potentiometric surface
above ground level. It tells how far above
ground level the bore water will rise to, and is a
measure of artesian pressure.) Ask students to
point out regions where:
–
the water pressure remained in the highest
category between 1880 and 1970
–
water pressure decreased between 1880
and 1970
–
bores that were artesian in 1880 became
sub-artesian by 1970.
 Point out that tapping of the Great Artesian
Basin has become so widespread that few
areas within it are now further than 10
kilometres from permanent water. Over most of
the Basin, permits have been required to drill
wells but, until recently, there was little control
over the amount of water that could be
harvested. Historically, bores have been
allowed to run freely and the water is
distributed via open drains.
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 3 | 55
 Distribute Student handout 3.1 and discuss the
consequences that have arisen from this
pattern of usage.
 Ask students, individually or in groups, to devise
two strategies for alleviating the issues facing the
Great Artesian Basin while allowing sustainable
use of the water resource. Student worksheet 3.2
could be used for this. For each strategy, there
should be a detailed explanation of the outcome(s)
that would be expected.
Another option is to provide students in pairs with
an unfamiliar word and using a graphic organiser
with the word written in the centre, establish a
definition, characteristics and a relevant example
and non-example. See the model below.
Unfamiliar terms may include the underlined
glossary items.
Definition
Characteristics
Example
Non-example
Developing vocabulary
Create visual representations of terms that
students come across in their inquiry that are
unfamiliar and require further explanation. One
idea could be to have an individual term (ie
‘aquitard’) on the front of a card and its meaning
on the back (ie ‘A layer of rock that does not allow
water to pass through’). These cards could hang
down from string. Alternatively, individual cards
could have both the term and its description on the
front and they could be stuck to a wall.
56 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
Student handout 3.1
Consequences of artesian bores

About 90 per cent of the water in bore drains is wasted by evaporating and seeping into the soil.

Some bores are poorly constructed or maintained. Water leaks from the main aquifers into overlying
layers and is wasted.

Water pressure and flow rate in most bores have fallen; many have become sub-artesian.

Many artesian springs have ceased to flow and the spring ecosystems lost.

Artesian water contains dissolved greenhouse gases. These are released to the atmosphere when the
water flows to the surface.

Open bore drains support weeds and allow feral animals to survive.

Because water is available in lots of places, animals can graze over a wider area. This can result in
overgrazing of fragile regions.

In times of drought, artesian water allows graziers to keep stock animals on their properties until feed
runs out. This results in a ‘feed drought’.
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 3 | 57
Student handout 3.2
Problems of artesian bores
Description of issue 1
Strategy for issue 1
Expected outcome
Description of issue 2
Strategy for issue 2
Expected outcome
58 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
Case study 3.2
Elizabeth Springs
Outcome
Students recognise the threats to groundwater
dependent ecosystems associated with a mound
spring.
Background
Elizabeth Springs was added to the National
Heritage list in August 2009. Its fragile ecological
community was listed as endangered by the
Australian Government in 2001, along with similar
communities across the Great Artesian Basin. As
well as the Elizabeth Springs goby, the fish
mentioned in the case study, the Elizabeth Springs
community is home to an endemic freshwater snail
and several endangered plants.
Environment Australia Action Plan for Australian
freshwater fishes: Elizabeth Springs goby,
www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/p
ublications/action/fish/8-24.html
Hydrogeological Framework Report for the Great
Artesian Basin Water Resource Plan Area, pp 98–
100, www.derm.qld.gov.au/wrp/pdf/gab/gabhydrogeological-framework-report.pdf
Developing vocabulary
Add any unfamiliar terms to the word hanging,
word wall or graphic organiser. Ensure students
have a good understanding of the underlined
glossary terms.
Definition
Characteristics
Examples
Non-examples
Resources and preparation
Student handout
Student handout 3.3 Elizabeth Springs – a
groundwater dependent ecosystem
References
Australian Heritage Database – Place details for
Elizabeth Springs, www.environment.gov.au/cgibin/ahdb/search.pl?mode=place_detail;place_id=1
05821
Enhancing biodiversity hotspots along western
Queensland stock routes,
www.derm.qld.gov.au/publications/docs/p203739/
p203739_3.pdf
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 3 | 59
Student handout 3.3
Elizabeth Springs – a groundwater dependent ecosystem
© Commonwealth of Australia. Photograph by Cameron Slatyer
Elizabeth Springs
Elizabeth Springs is about 80 kilometres southeast
of Boulia in Western Queensland. It is a group of
more than 30 artesian mound springs, spread over
about 30 hectares. They are fed from a sandstone
aquifer of the Great Artesian Basin. The shallow
water in the springs overflows into pools a metre
or two below the mounds.
In the larger pools, darting between the water
plants, are small olive-grey fish. These are
Elizabeth Springs gobies, Chlamydogobius
micropterus, and they are found nowhere else on
Earth.
Elizabeth Springs is part of the Springvale
supergroup of springs. Two centuries ago, it was one
of the largest spring groups in the Great Artesian
Basin. The springs covered
120 hectares and were a vital resource for the
Ringu Ringu people. They fed into nearby Spring
Creek, which flowed for 30 kilometres and was
also home to the gobies. Today, Elizabeth Springs
is the only member of the supergroup to remain
active. It flows at less than 5 per cent of its former
rate. The creek has ceased flowing. Loss of water
through bores has dropped water pressure in the
aquifer and the springs are now almost starved.
Most of the water is extracted for stock and
domestic use. The Osborne (copper-gold) and
Cannington (lead-silver-zinc) mines to the north
take water from the same aquifer.
Not long ago, the springs were being trampled by
stock animals. The gobies’ habitat was being
destroyed and their survival was threatened.
Scientists surveyed these springs, and others
60 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
Student handout 3.3 cont.
Elizabeth Springs – a groundwater dependent ecosystem
© Commonwealth of Australia. Photograph by Gunther E Schmida
Elizabeth Springs goby
in the Great Artesian Basin, and realised that
something needed to be done. In 2001, the
Australian Government declared the spring
communities endangered. Elizabeth Springs was
fenced to keep cattle out, but feral pigs continue to
cause damage. In August 2009, the springs were
added to the National Heritage List.
So far the gobies have escaped being forced out
by the exotic mosquitofish (Gambusia sp.). These
have appeared in other Australian waterways,
carried there by waterbirds. At present, the goby
population seems to be stable. The springs will
need to be carefully managed to ensure they
survive.
Your investigation
 Artesian water is usually hot and contains
dissolved minerals. How do these factors
contribute to the mounds that build up around
springs?
 Does the Elizabeth Springs goby have any
value to us? Why do scientists think it is
important to save the goby from extinction?
 Find out about some other plants or animals
that are restricted to a single group of artesian
springs. What is being done to protect them?
 Suggest some strategies that managers could
use to help the Elizabeth Springs gobies
survive.
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 3 | 61
INVESTIGATION 4
What can be done to address the current issues facing the Great
Artesian Basin?
Introduction
The Great Artesian Basin extends across four
states but needs to be managed in a sustainable
manner as a single system. Stakeholders need to
appreciate the economic, social, cultural and
environmental value of the Basin and its water, and
the threats from unsustainable water use. Wastage
and environmental damage from open drains must
be reduced, and entitlements to the water resource
must be rationalised. Endangered spring
ecosystems and communities must be protected.
Although problems with the sustainable use of the
Great Australian Basin were evident from the early
20th century, no structure existed to explore
solutions on a Basin-wide scale until 1997 when
the Great Australian Basin Consultative Council
was formed to develop a management plan. The
Australian Government also introduced the Great
Australian Basin Sustainability Initiative
www.environment.gov.au/water/policy-programs/gabsi
to provide subsidies to enable landholders to
rehabilitate and cap wells and install piping. In
2004, the Great Australian Basin Consultative
Council was succeeded by the Great Australian
Basin Coordinating Committee www.gabcc.org.au .
62 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
Australian Curriculum links
Science – Year 7
Science Understanding
Science as a Human Endeavour
Science Inquiry Skills
Earth and space sciences
Use and influence of science
Evaluating
 Water is an important
resource that cycles through
the environment
 Science and technology contribute to
finding solutions to a range of
contemporary issues; these solutions may
impact on other areas of society and
involve ethical considerations
 Use scientific knowledge
and findings from
investigations to evaluate
claims
 Science understanding influences the
development of practices in areas of
human activity such as industry,
agriculture and marine and terrestrial
resource management
Geography (from Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Geography)
Geographical knowledge and
understanding
Year 7
Weather and water

water is a difficult resource to
manage because it is integrated
into environmental systems in
complex ways, can be highly
variable over time and across
space, and has many competing
uses
Geographical inquiry and skills
Developing a geographical question

observation can lead to questions for investigation
Planning a geographical inquiry

finding a way of resolving a problem depends on an
understanding of the causes of that problem
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 4 | 63
Lessons
Resources and
Lesson 4.1
The race to cap and pipe
preparation
Outcome
Copies of Champions of the Great Artesian Basin
available for download at
Students analyse strategies used to tackle the
issues confronting the Great Artesian Basin and
identify how they contribute to sustainability.
www.gabcc.org.au/tools/getFile.aspx?tbl=tblCon
tentItem&id=107
Booklet
Video
Background
Historically, there has been significant wastage of
artesian water in the Great Artesian Basin through
leakage from bores as well as evaporation and
seepage from open drains. The Great Artesian
Basin Sustainability Initiative (GABSI) has sought
to address this situation by providing funding for
capped wells and installing piping.
A well is capped by installing a system of pipes
and valves at the top so that the flow of water can
be turned on and off. Piping refers to the
construction of a system of pipes to distribute
water instead of having open-bore drains.
The pipes supply tanks and watering troughs at a
distance from the well. Bores may also be
rehabilitated by sinking a casing, which lines the
shaft and prevents leakage into the aquifers that
overlie the artesian aquifer.
Student handout 4.2 summarises some benefits
and costs of capping and piping.
Water Down Under: The Great Artesian Basin
Story (Can be accessed at www.environment.
gov.au. Go to ‘Water’, then ‘Publications and
resources’, then ‘Water for agriculture
publications’.)
Student worksheet/handout
Student worksheet 4.1 Bringing sustainability to
the Great Artesian Basin
Student handout 4.2 Summary of impacts from the
Great Artesian Basin Sustainability Initiative
References
ABC Landline, If the cap fits,
www.abc.net.au/landline/content/2008/s2636576.
htm
Department of Environment and Resource
Management, Queensland Government 2010,
Recovery plan for the community of native species
dependent on natural discharge of groundwater
from the Great Artesian Basin,
www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/
publications/recovery/pubs/great-artesian-basinec.pdf
64 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
Department of Environment and Resource
Management, Queensland Government 2007,
Inland waters and wetlands: Artesian bore
pressure,
www.derm.qld.gov.au/environmental_management/
state_of_the_environment/state_of_the_environme
nt_queensland_2007/state_of_the_environment_qu
eensland_2007_contents/inland_waters_and_wetla
nds_artesian_bore_ pressure.html
Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water,
Population and Communities, Australian
Government, Farm costs, benefits and risks from
bore capping and piping in the GAB,
www.environment.gov.au/water/publications/agricult
ure/abridged-cie-final-report.html
Great Artesian Basin Sustainability Initiative
(GABSI), www.environment.gov.au/water/policyprograms/gabsi/index.html
Great Australian Basin Coordinating Committee
2002, GAB Strategic Management Plan,
www.gabcc.org.au/public/content/ViewCategory.a
spx?id=29
Great Australian Basin Coordinating Committee,
Great Artesian Basin Strategic Management Plan:
Progress and Achievements to 2008,
www.gabcc.org.au/tools/getFile.aspx?tbl=tblConte
ntItem&id=365
Rolfe, John, Associated off-farm economic values
of saving water and restoring pressure in the Great
Artesian Basin: Report provided to the Australian
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage
and the Arts, August 2008,
www.environment.gov.au/water/publications/envir
onmental/groundwater/pubs/saving-watergab.pdf
Great Australian Basin Coordinating Committee,
Booklet: Champions of the Great Artesian Basin,
2006,
www.gabcc.org.au/tools/getFile.aspx?tbl=tblConte
ntItem&id=115
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 4 | 65
Lesson outline
Developing vocabulary
 Discuss with students some of the issues
facing the sustainability of water use in the
Great Artesian Basin (You may wish to refer
back to Lesson 3.1). Explain that institutions
like the Great Artesian Basin Coordinating
Committee (GABCC) and the Great Artesian
Basin Sustainability Initiative (GABSI) have
been set up to tackle these issues.
Create visual representations of terms that
students come across in their inquiry that are
unfamiliar and require further explanation. One
idea could be to have an individual term (ie
‘aquitard’) on the front of a card and its meaning
on the back (ie ‘A layer of rock that does not allow
water to pass through’). These cards could hang
down from string. Alternatively, individual cards
could have both the term and its description on the
front and they could be stuck to a wall.
 Show Chapter 6 of the Water Down Under
video
 Provide copies of Champions of the Great
Artesian Basin
 Provide copies of Student worksheet 4.1.
Hand out copies of Student handout 4.2. Discuss the
four strategies for increasing sustainability in the
Great Artesian Basin, then ask students to complete
the remainder of the worksheet by referring to the
video and the case studies in the booklet.
Another option is to provide students in pairs with
an unfamiliar word and using a graphic organiser
with the word written in the centre, establish a
definition, characteristics and a relevant example
and non-example. See the model below.
Unfamiliar terms may include the underlined
glossary items.
Definition
Characteristics
Examples
Non-examples
66 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
Student handout 4.1
Bringing sustainability to the Great Artesian Basin
These are some of the strategies that are being used to return the Great Artesian Basin to a balanced state:

Well casing: Wells are lined and sealed
properly. This stops water leaking into rock
layers that lie above the artesian aquifer.

Well capping: Pipes and taps are installed
at the top of the well. They allow waterflow to be
turned on and off as required. This replaces
bores that flow continuously.

Piping: Water from bores is distributed
through pipes which take the place of open-bore
drains. The pipes supply tanks and watering
troughs

A system of water entitlements:
Governments control how much water each
user can take. They also ensure that there is a
fair distribution of water for all, including the
environment.
The first column below lists some of the issues
facing the Great Artesian Basin. For each strategy
in the other columns, place a tick if that strategy
will help in tackling that problem.
Strategy
Problem
Casing
Capping
Piping
Entitlements
flow rate and pressure in wells has fallen
artesian water releases greenhouse gases
most water in drains evaporates or leaks out
many artesian springs have stopped flowing
water can leak from artesian aquifers through wells into
overlying rock layers
weeds grow around bore drains
open bores and drains support feral animals
increased access to water can result in over-grazing
In drought, open drains can trap weakened stock
Ecosystems in arid regions have been disrupted by
the introduction of permanent water
Some users see little value in saving artesian water
because it seems to be inexhaustible

The Great Artesian Basin Sustainability Initiative (GABSI) has helped many pastoralists to tackle
these problems. GABSI gives subsidies toward the cost of fixing bores and installing piping. Discuss
whether there would be any disadvantages to capping and piping. Describe any you find.

Some people argue that capping and piping is too expensive and the cost will never be repaid.
Based on what you have learned in this activity, explain why that argument is correct or incorrect.
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 4 | 67
Student handout 4.2
Summary of impacts from the Great Artesian Basin Sustainability Initiative
On-farm benefits of bore capping and piping
Off-farm benefits of bore capping and piping

extended life of bores

reduced water wastage

reduced risk of bore deterioration

improvement in aquifer pressure

control of waterflow leading to management
efficiencies

existence value of Great Artesian Basin

existence value of landscape and ecosystem

reduced waterlogging, salinisation and
degradation associated with bore drains

increase in the reliability of water, leading to
economic and social stability in the region

increase in capital land value

recovery of natural springs

reduction in the operation and maintenance
expenses associated with open drains

protection of town water supplies

improved water quality at delivery point

increased water availability for higher value
uses, including mining

improved access around property

tourism opportunities based on artesian water

reduction in weeds

management saving associated with mustering

better control of feral animals and water points

improved pasture utilisation

improved drought resilience
On-farm cost of bore capping and piping

initial landholder expenditure on capping, piping
and troughs

management changes
Off-farm cost of bore capping and piping

initial Australian and state government

expenditure on capping and piping
68 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
INVESTIGATION 5
What can I do to ensure our water is used more sustainably?
Introduction
Households can contribute to the sustainability of
the water supply by reducing wastage and
investigating alternative sources.
Much groundwater is found not in confined
aquifers, but in the pore spaces of the soil and
rocks directly beneath the Earth’s surface. Near
the surface, the pore spaces are not completely
filled with water but, lower down, there is a
saturated zone. The top of the saturated zone is
known as the water table.
These are unconfined aquifers. They can be
replenished by water seeping down from rainfall or
lakes and rivers on the surface, and plants can tap
directly into the water via their roots. When a well is
drilled into an unconfined aquifer, the water can rise
only as far as the water table. See Figure 5.1 and
Figure 5.2 on page 72.
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 4 | 69
Australian Curriculum links
Science – Year 7
Science Understanding
Science as a Human
Endeavour
Science Inquiry Skills
Biological sciences
Nature and development of
science
Questioning and predicting
 Interactions between
organisms can be described in
terms of food chains and food
webs; human activity can
affect these interactions
Chemical sciences
 Mixtures, including solutions,
contain a combination of pure
substances that can be
separated using a range of
techniques
Earth and space sciences
 Water is an important resource
that cycles through the
environment
 Scientific knowledge
changes as new evidence
becomes available, and
some scientific discoveries
have significantly changed
people’s understanding of
the world
Use and influence of
science
 Science and technology
contribute to finding
solutions to a range of
contemporary issues;
these solutions may impact
on other areas of society
and involve ethical
considerations
 Science understanding
influences the development
of practices in areas of
human activity such as
industry, agriculture and
marine and terrestrial
resource management
 People use understanding
and skills from across the
disciplines of science in
their occupations
 Identify questions and problems that
can be investigated scientifically and
make predictions based on scientific
knowledge
Planning and conducting
 Collaboratively and individually plan
and conduct a range of investigation
types, including fieldwork and
experiments, ensuring safety and
ethical guidelines are followed
 In fair tests, measure and control
variables, and select equipment to
collect data with accuracy
appropriate to the task
Processing and analysing data and
information
 Construct and use a range of
representations, including graphs,
keys and models to represent and
analyse patterns or relationships,
including using digital technologies
as appropriate
 Summarise data, from students’ own
investigations and secondary
sources, and use scientific
understanding to identify
relationships and draw conclusions
Evaluating
 Reflect on the method used to
investigate a question or solve a
problem, including evaluating the
quality of the data collected, and
identify improvements to the method
 Use scientific knowledge and findings
from investigations to evaluate claims
Communicating
 Communicate ideas, findings and
solutions to problems using scientific
language and representations using
digital technologies as appropriate
70 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
Geography (from Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Geography)
Geographical knowledge and
understanding
Year 7
Weather and water


the hydrologic cycle describes the
movement of water between the
atmosphere, land and oceans
water is a difficult resource to
manage because it is integrated
into environmental systems in
complex ways, can be highly
variable over time and across
space, and has many competing
uses
Geographical inquiry and skills
Communicating

each type of communication has conventions that should
usually be followed for communication to be effective

the climate of place can be represented by a graph of
average monthly temperature and precipitation
Planning and implementing actions

finding a way of resolving a problem depends on an
understanding of the causes of that problem
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 5 | 71
Lessons
Lesson outline
Lesson 5.1
Groundwater and my household
 Discuss the fact that water is a scarce resource
in Australia and that many areas impose water
restrictions on households. The exercise in this
lesson will be to evaluate whether extracting
groundwater could help to conserve water.
Outcome
Students investigate the extent and nature of
groundwater resources in the local area and make
recommendations about drilling a well to extract
water.
 Give a brief general overview of groundwater,
including aquifers, the water table and
waterflow and show students Figure 5.1 and
Figure 5.2. You may wish to refer to the
brochure, Understanding Groundwater.
Background
 Ask students to research and report as suggested
in Student handout 5.1.
Most regions of Australia have some groundwater
resources, but the quantity and quality varies
considerably from one place to another. Some
urban areas, such as Perth, rely heavily on
groundwater, while in other areas groundwater is
used mainly for irrigation. Many aquifers,
particularly in highly populated regions, are
threatened by unsustainable rates of extraction or
contamination from industrial sites.
Resources and preparation
Figures, graphs, maps and
tables
Figure 5.1 Groundwater
Figure 5.2 Types of aquifers
Brochure
Developing vocabulary
Create visual representations of terms that
students come across in their inquiry that are
unfamiliar and require further explanation. One
idea could be to have an individual term (ie
‘aquitard’) on the front of a card and its meaning
on the back (ie ‘A layer of rock that does not allow
water to pass through’). These cards could hang
down from string. Alternatively, individual cards
could have both the term and its description on the
front and they could be stuck to a wall.
Another option is to provide students in pairs with
an unfamiliar word and using a graphic organiser
with the word written in the centre, establish a
definition, characteristics and a relevant example
and non-example.
Unfamiliar terms may include the underlined
glossary items.
Understanding Groundwater,
http://adl.brs.gov.au/brsShop/data/sfdm_groundw
ater_lores.pdf
Local resources
It could be helpful to contact a person who has
knowledge of groundwater in the local area – for
example, a local licensed water driller or the local
council.
Student handout
Student handout 5.1 Groundwater for our
household?
72 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
Source: Understanding Groundwater, Science for Decision Makers, 2007, ABARES
The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES)
is an independent research agency of the Australian Government
Figure 5.1 Groundwater
Figure 5.2 Types of aquifers
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 5 | 73
Source: Understanding Groundwater, Science for Decision Makers, 2007, ABARES
The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences
(ABARES) is an independent research agency of the Australian Government
Student handout 5.1
Groundwater for our household?
Your family has asked you to investigate this question: Could our household use groundwater for some of its
water supplies? You need to seek information and write a short report about your findings.

Read the brochure, Understanding Groundwater. Find out where groundwater comes from and what
factors can affect its quality.

Find out whether there are good quality aquifers in your local area. Are they confined or unconfined?
You may be able to ask neighbours who have bores, or you could try contacting local water-drilling
contractors.

Make a list of the ways your household could use the water if it were extracted.

Some regions in Australia do not permit the drilling of new wells. Are they permitted where you live? If
so, do you need a permit to drill for water or a licence to extract it? If wells are not permitted, try to find
out the reasons.

Are there any likely sources of groundwater contamination in your local area? What types of
contaminant could the sources release?

Does your household have any sources that could contaminate groundwater? If so, what can be done
about them? Should they be reduced even if your well does not go ahead?

Are there any nearby ecosystems that could be affected if you extracted groundwater?
If your household decided to go ahead with the well, would this be a responsible decision?
Is the resource being used in a sustainable manner at present or would you be making the situation worse?

Find out about Artificial Storage and Recovery (ASR), also called Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR).
Could ASR be used to relieve water shortages in your local area?

Write your report, setting out the advantages and disadvantages of extracting groundwater. Then try to
balance these and come to a conclusion: What is the right decision for your household?
74 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
Lesson 5.2
Does water divining work?
Outcome
Students perform a double-blind investigation to test
whether water divining works.
Background
A double-blind test attempts to eliminate the
possibility that both the subject and the
experimenter could influence the results of the test
through bias or the inadvertent exchange of
information. It requires that neither party has prior
knowledge of how the control and experimental
variables are arranged. In this case, they must not
know the location of the water.
Water diviners (or dowsers) claim to be able to
detect the location of underground water, usually by
using a variety of instruments such as forked sticks
or metal rods. There is no scientific basis for this
claim, and controlled tests have repeatedly shown
that it does not work. Data from early 20th century
well-drilling in NSW (see the extract in the
Resources and preparation section below) shows
that ‘divined’ wells were less successful than
‘undivined’ wells.
Resources and preparation
In 1980, Dick Smith and James Randi organised a
program of tests in Sydney to assess the ability of
diviners. The tests were controlled, double-blind
trials in which the success rate due to chance would
be 10 per cent. Prior to the tests, the diviners
claimed they would have very high success rates
(averaging 86 per cent), but they achieved only 22
per cent.
Student worksheet/handout
Figures, graphs, maps and tables
Table 5.1 Design for a water-divining test
Materials
bottle of water, at least 5 containers to hide the
water bottle
Student handout 5.2 Divining success rate: A major
study in NSW, Australia
Student worksheet 5.3 Data recording sheet for
water-divining experiment
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 5 | 75
References
Lesson outline
Australian Skeptics divining test,
www.skeptics.com.au/publications/articles/australian
-skeptics-divining-test
• Discuss the phenomenon of water divining or
dowsing, including some methods and whether it
is likely to be valid. Some students may be able
to relate experiences with diviners.
James Randi water-divining video,
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=74619128
85649996034#
The Mighty Mitta Muster water-divining test (video),
2002,
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=46945305
84288972114
Richard Saunders water-divining test (video),
www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_mWZWDcqK4&featu
re=player_embedded
USGS Water Dowsing Report,
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/water_dowsing/pdf/water_d
owsing.pdf
• Explain that this phenomenon can be tested
scientifically. It is possible to make a hypothesis
about water divining which specifies an outcome
that can be measured. A suitable hypothesis
could be developed at this stage, for example, ‘If
a person can divine water, he/she should be able
to consistently find a hidden container of water
with better than chance results’.
• Discuss the requirements for a good scientific
test of this hypothesis. Elaborate on the reasons
for each:
– The test must be controlled. One variable
should be changed while others are
controlled.
– Subjects need to fit the criteria being tested.
– The effect must potentially work under the
experimental conditions.
– Subjects must be unaware of changes to
variables (blind test).
– Testers must be unaware of changes to
variables (double-blind test).
– The result of each test must be clearly
measured.
– Repeat trials must be carried out.
– In interpreting the results, chance must be
taken into account.
76 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
 Guide the class in designing a test to take
account of these requirements. Table 5.1 shows
a possible design.
Design for a water-divining test
 Refer students to Student handout 5.2. Read
the extract with the students and then discuss
the data and the conclusions drawn about the
effectiveness of water divining. Explore the
strengths and weaknesses in the method of
measuring the divining success rate and
whether the data presented in the chart really
supports the conclusions.
Developing vocabulary
Add any unfamiliar terms to the word hanging,
word wall or graphic organiser. Ensure students
have a good understanding of the underlined
glossary terms.
Definition
Characteristics
Examples
Non-examples
 Carry out the series of tests using the method
chosen by the class. Refer to Student handout
5.2 for an example of a table that could be
used to record the data. Have students record
their results in Student worksheet 5.3.
 Examine the results, comparing the actual
success rate with that expected by chance. Ask
students to derive a conclusion by deciding
whether the hypothesis has been supported or
rejected.
 Review the experiment, discussing any
improvements that could be made if the test
were to be repeated.
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 5 | 77
Table 5.1 Design for a water-divining test
Requirement
Suggested strategy
The test must be controlled.
One variable should be
changed while others are
controlled.
A bottle of water will be hidden and the subjects asked to locate it. There
will be at least five numbered hiding positions around the room,
separated by reasonable distances, and the bottle will be placed
randomly in one of them. The empty positions are the controls. To ensure
random selection, numbered cards could be placed in a box, with one
card drawn for each test.
Subjects need to have
demonstrated the ability to
‘divine’ water.
Carry out initial trials with members of the class. Put a bottle of water
on a table and find students who can ‘locate’ it using the divining
devices.
The effect must potentially work
under the experimental
conditions.
Before the test, check whether the subjects can ‘locate’ the bottle while it
is hidden in a known position. To save time, it could be convenient to
make all the hides identical (eg cardboard cartons) so that a single check
will suffice.
The subject must not know in
advance the true position of the
bottle.
Each subject must leave the room while the hiding position is selected
and the bottle is hidden.
The testers must not know in
advance the true position of the
bottle.
All observers must leave the room while the hiding position is selected
and the bottle is hidden. There must be at least one person who hides the
bottle. The hiding position should be chosen randomly (eg by drawing a
card) to prevent any pattern emerging. Anyone who knows the position of
the bottle must then leave the room while the test is performed.
The result of each test must be
clearly measured.
Each subject must state clearly where the bottle is believed to be within a
reasonable time. This will be recorded by the testers. The true position of
the bottle will then be revealed and recorded.
Repeat trials must be carried
out.
The method will be repeated several times, with a new randomly
chosen position for the bottle each time.
In interpreting the results,
chance must be taken into
account.
If there are five hiding places, a person without any divining ability
would be expected to guess the correct position in one trial out of five.
If divining works, it should give better results.
78 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
Student handout 5.2
Divining success rate: A major study in NSW, Australia
There is no body of evidence, so far as the writer is aware, so valuable for assessing the claims of divining
as that which has been gathered and recorded by the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission of
New South Wales in connection with the shallow drilling carried out for settlers in central New South Wales.
The drills are operated by the Commission, and the drill foreman has to report at the outset of the work
whether or not the site has been divined. The settlers are not influenced in any way in the fixing of bore
sites, and some of them have made their own selection, while others have taken the advice of diviners.
From these reports the Commission has compiled the following table, which deals with all the boreholes
drilled between 1918 and the end of 1943.
Divined
Classification of Boreholes
Not divined
Number
Drilled
Per cent
Number
Drilled
Per cent
Bores in which supplies of serviceable water,
estimated at 100 gall. per hour (approx. 0.12
L/sec) or over, were obtained
1284
70.5
1474
83.8
Bores in which supplies of serviceable
water, estimated at less than 100 gall. per
hour, were obtained
184
10.1
93
5.3
Bores in which supplies of unserviceable
water were obtained
87
4.7
60
3.5
Bores which were absolute failures, no
water of any kind being obtained
268
14.7
131
7.4
The districts within which these boreholes were drilled have a yearly rainfall ranging from nearly 30 inches
[approx. 750 mm] to under 15 inches [approx. 375 mm] in the extreme west. The northern part of the area
embracing the boreholes lies largely within the Great Artesian Basin, with a consequent material reduction
in the risk of failure. Yet it will be seen that the proportion of failures at divined sites is nearly double that at
sites not divined, while the percentage of highly successful drillings is far greater at sites not divined than
that at the divined sites. The very large number of boreholes embraced in the tabulation corrects the
deficiency that has been felt by those who have tried to discuss divining in the light of the records dealing
with a small number of cases, some of which may have been selected, and omitting any reference to the
failures that must certainly have occurred.
Extract from Geological Survey of South Australia, Bulletin No. 23, 1946
Reproduced with permission from the Geological Survey of South Australia
Teacher guide and lesson plan: Investigation 5 | 79
Student worksheet 5.3
Data recording sheet for water-divining experiment
Subject:
Trial Number
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Detected location
Actual location
Success rate expected by chance:
out of
( _ %)
Actual success rate:
out of
( _ %)
Subject:
Trial Number
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Detected location
Actual location
Success rate expected by chance:
out of
( _ %)
Actual success rate:
out of
( _ %)
Subject:
Trial Number
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Detected location
Actual location
Success rate expected by chance:
out of
( _ %)
Actual success rate:
out of
( _ %)
80 | The Great Artesian Basin Water in the dry interior
GLOSSARY
aquifer
biodiversity
A layer of rock or soil that can absorb and hold
water and allow it to flow through.
A measure of the variety of living things
in a particular region.
aquitard
A layer of rock that does not allow water to pass
through.
arid
A region lacking sufficient water or rainfall.
artesian basin
capped well
An artesian bore or well which has pipes and taps
installed at the top so water flow can be turned on
and off as required. This prevents the bore flowing
continuously.
confined aquifer
A system of sedimentary rock layers containing
aquifers that can store and transport water that is
under pressure.
An aquifer with impervious layers above and
below, so that water can flow only sideways.
artesian bore
contamination
A bore hole that is drilled into a confined aquifer
containing groundwater. This enables water,
which is under pressure, to flow upward through a
well to the surface.
The act of adding harmful substances to a pure
substance such as water.
artesian head
The release or free flow of water from a well or a
spring.
The height above ground level to which artesian
water will rise when a shaft is drilled into the aquifer;
also known as ‘head above ground’.
artesian spring
A spring formed at a place where water leaks to the
surface from a confined aquifer, either because the
aquifer is exposed or a fault has fractured the
aquitards.
artesian water
Groundwater that is under pressure in a confined
aquifer so that, when the aquifer is tapped by a
bore, the water flows naturally to a level above the
land surface.
discharge
double-blind investigation
Describes a controlled scientific trial in which
neither the experimenters nor the subjects know
who is in the experimental group or who is in the
control group.
ecosystem
A community of living things and the physical
environment which supports it.
endemic
Found only in a particular locality.
Glossary | 81
exotic
hypothesis
Not native; originating from another country.
A proposed explanation for a phenomenon; it
remains tentative until tested.
feral
Surviving in the wild after escaping from
domestication.
flow rate
hypothetical
A suggested but unproven explanation of some
observed reality or phenomenon.
The amount of water that flows from a well or a
spring over a particular period of time. Flow rates
are expressed in units of volume and time such as
litres per hour or megalitres per year.
impermeable
gigalitre (GL)
One thousand million (or 1 x 109) litres.
A layer of rock or sediment that will not let water
through.
greenhouse gases
infiltration
Gases that trap infrared radiation and thus
contribute to the warming of the Earth’s
atmosphere by the greenhouse effect. The
principal greenhouse gases are water vapour,
methane, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and
ozone.
The downward flow of water from the surface
into the soil or rock.
Does not allow water to pass through.
impervious layer
intake beds
Places where rain or surface water soaks into an
exposed aquifer; also known as ‘recharge areas’.
groundwater
Water filling the pore spaces or cracks in soil or
rock beneath the Earth’s surface.
groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDE)
Ecosystems that depend on groundwater for their
survival. They include ecosystems found in
artesian springs, caves, swamps, wetlands and
stream banks.
interbedded
Arranged in alternating, horizontal layers (often
referred to as beds by Earth scientists).
isohyet
A line on a map joining places of equal annual
rainfall.
head above ground
The height above ground level to which artesian
water will rise when a shaft is drilled into the
aquifer; also known as ‘artesian head’.
kilopascal
A measurement unit of force or pressure per unit
area. A kilopascal (kPa) equals 1,000 pascals of
pressure per square metre.
megalitre (ML)
One million (or 1 x 106) litres.
82 | A unique river system worth maintaining The Lake Eyre Basin
mineral load
porous
The amount of minerals dissolved in a particular
volume of water.
Having pores, or small spaces, and thus able
to absorb water.
mound spring
potentiometric surface
An artesian spring that is surrounded by a conical
mound built up from sediment and minerals
deposited by the water.
Indicates how high above ground level artesian
water will rise over a particular area.
recharge areas
National Heritage List
An established list of places (natural, cultural or
historic) of outstanding heritage significance and
value to Australia. Special Australian Government
laws and agreements protect listed places. The
National Heritage List is compiled and maintained by
the Department of Sustainability, Environment,
Water, Population and Communities.
Places where rain or surface water soaks into an
exposed aquifer; also known as ‘intake beds’.
rehabilitate
To restore to good health a former habitat that
has been damaged or lost by such events as
overuse, overgrazing or feral animal invasion.
salinisation
non-permeable
Does not have holes or pores and, therefore,
does not allow fluids to be absorbed.
A build-up of salt in the soil as a result of a rising
water table which brings water containing
dissolved salt from deep sediments.
permeable
sedimentary
Allowing water to pass through via pore spaces
or cracks.
Formed from the settling and compaction
of sediment.
piping
songlines
The provision of pipes to carry and distribute
water from bores to troughs and tanks rather than
have the water travel along open drains.
In Indigenous belief systems, these are paths
followed by creator-beings during the Dreaming,
passed down through generations via songs,
stories and dance.
pituri
A plant used ceremonially and socially as a drug
by the Australian Indigenous people; one of the
active components is nicotine.
spring complex
As applied to artesian springs, a group of
related springs found within an area a few
kilometres square.
Glossary | 83
sub-artesian
variable
Groundwater that rises naturally in a well to a
height above that of the surrounding water table
but does not have sufficient pressure to flow
freely out of a well and requires pumping to be
extracted.
Able to or likely to change (adjective); a
quantity which is able to be changed
during an experiment (noun).
supergroup
As applied to artesian springs, a collection of
spring complexes spread over a geographical
region.
sustainability
The ability of an activity, resource or ecosystem to
be maintained into the future without declining in
quality and abundance.
water divining
Any method which claims to locate underground
water using techniques that have no scientific
basis; also known as ‘water dowsing’.
water entitlement
A government-regulated allowance of how much
water can be taken from the springs or bores over a
period of time. Entitlements are issued to particular
property owners or other users to ensure fair and
sustainable distribution of water and the protection
of the environment.
sustainable
Able to be continued for a long time without
serious change.
uncapped well
An open well or bore that has been drilled into an
aquifer allowing a natural and continuous flow of
water. Uncapped wells can waste water because
they do not have a cap or tape to control the flow.
unconfined aquifer
water table
The upper surface of the zone where the pores of
soil are totally filled with groundwater; above the
water table there is some air in the pores.
well casing
The process of ensuring that bore and well drill
holes are lined and sealed to ensure water is not
lost through its seepage into rock layers above
the artesian aquifer.
An aquifer with a water table, above which
water can seep downwards from the surface.
unsustainable
Cannot continue at the current rate or level.
upward leakage
Leakage of water from the artesian groundwater
upwards into the water table or soil.
84 | A unique river system worth maintaining The Lake Eyre Basin
9 781742 001289
Glossary | 85