Panels

Tuesday 26 November (morning)

Panel chair Andrew Ross introduced the importance of groundwater in achieving the UN sustainable development goals noting that “Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible” will be the theme for World Water Day in 2022. Len Drury presented examples of the expanding demands faced by groundwater experts to address impacts of climate change on groundwater, transboundary aquifers, gender equality and social inclusion as well as management of aquifer systems and groundwater investigations. Erika Korosi outlined the importance of managing water related risks and explained BHP’s comprehensive and inclusive approach to water stewardship. Ross Carruthers provided a natural resource management and landholder perspective with illustrations from coastal management in Queensland and monitoring groundwater impacts of coal seam gas. Questions to the panel provoked a lively discussion about the value of citizen science, models for stakeholder engagement, communication of science to communities and users and the conservation of aquifers.

Panel members

Dr Andrew Ross (Chair)

Visiting Research Fellow Fenner School, Australian National University

Ms Erika Korosi

Lead Water Stewardship, BHP

Dr Len Drury

Partner, Aqua Rock Konsultants

Mr Ross Carruthers

Tuesday 26 November (morning)

Groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs) are ecosystems that rely upon groundwater. Therefore, these ecosystems may be sensitive to declining groundwater tables resulting from high rates of groundwater extraction. In this panel, we will be discussing the potential impacts of groundwater extractions on GDEs ecosystems, with particular emphasis on:

1. Recent developments in monitoring, assessment, and data availability;
2. Current challenges (including key data gaps); and 
3. Future directions.

Panel members

Mr Peter Baker (Chair)

Director, Department of the Environment & Energy

Ms Eloise Nation

Senior Hydrogeologist, Bureau of Meteorology. 

Ms Fabienne d’Hautefeuille

Manager Water Assessments, NSW Department of Industry

Ms Katharine Glanville

Project Manager, Department of Environment and Science

Wednesday 27 November (morning)

Sponsored by EMM 

As infrastructure strives to meet increasing usage from global population movements to metropolitan areas, there are pressures for up-to-date, effective, and efficient infrastructure. Whether for transport of goods or people, due to decreases in available space resulting from increasing population densities, many linear infrastructure projects in Australia are now considered underground structures such as tunnels (Inland Rail, Melbourne Metro Rail, WestConnex, Cross River Rail, etc.). The expertise in tunnelling is not constrained to urban areas and large-scale infrastructure projects, for example the Snowy Hydro 2.0 scheme, which uses this expertise to develop innovative solutions to everyday problems. This panel session will discuss the multi-faceted aspects of the relationship between linear infrastructure and groundwater in our changing world.  With a focus on subsurface infrastructure such as tunnelling and its many applications, the panel includes professionals with expertise from various aspects of linear infrastructure within Australia’s major cities and the Snowy Hydro scheme, inclusive of regulatory /approvals, consulting, and tunnelling professionals to engage in a well-rounded discussion of the challenges and considerations for the successful development and operation of linear infrastructure. 

Panel members

Mr Angus McFarlane (Chair)

Senior Hydrogeologist, AECOM

Ms Liz Webb

Director - Principal Hydrogeologist, EMM Consulting Pty Limited

Dr Richard Evans

Principal Hydrogeologist - Infrastructure and Environment, Jacobs

Mr Brendan Henry

Senior Technical Director, GHD

Wednesday 27 November (morning)

Sponsored by GHD

Resources Panel Session - Groundwater in Mining and Resources: Understanding and Assessing Risk in Groundwater Impacts from Coal Resource Development. The panel session will provide an informative discussion on State and Commonwealth requirements in the groundwater approvals process for major coal projects and coal seam gas (CSG). The session will be chaired by Dr Jennifer Stauber from CSIRO and the panel will include a diverse panel with representatives from State government, private industry and consulting.

Panel members 

Dr Jennifer Stauber (Chair)

Chief Research Scientist - CSIRO Land and Water

Mr Blair Douglas

Global Head of Water, BHP 

Dr Wendy Timms

Professor, Environmental Engineering, Deakin University

Mr John Paul Williams 

Senior Hydrogeologist, NSW Department of Industry 

Mr Christopher Loveday

Director - Operational Support I Regulatory Support / Department of Environment and Science

Mr James Tomlin

Director, Australasian Groundwater and Environmental Consultants Pty Ltd

Monday 25 November (morning)

The Australasian Groundwater Conference is proud to host a session that focusses entirely on Indigenous groundwater values and knowledge. Indigenous people’s long association and connections to groundwater can cover a broad range, such as historic use for consumption and survival in a dry landscape and a suite of cultural and spiritual connections associated with knowledge and use of the water and places associated with groundwater.

By hosting this session, we aim to promote the understanding and importance of Indigenous groundwater connections, values and knowledge in Australasia. We hope that this will serve as a catalyst for improving the way we conserve and manage groundwater in our changing world in a way that delivers positive outcomes for Indigenous stakeholders and protects groundwater dependant knowledge and cultural values.

The session will comprise two sub-sessions: 1) a technical session with a keynote and presentation of case studies and projects; and 2) a panel session combining key Indigenous leaders in the field with Q&A.

Technical Session (1 hour)

Keynote on Indigenous Groundwater Connections: Brad Moggridge, Aboriginal Water Expert, University of Canberra

Presentation 2: Partnering indigenous knowledge (Mattauranga Maori) and biophysical science: Developing a planning framework for rock art and cultural landscape protection in relation to disturbance of freshwater environments. Richard Harmon

Presentation 3: Scientific benefits of partnering with Traditional Owners. Josephine Searle 

Presentation 4: A collaborative study combining contemporary hydrogeological methods with traditional knowledge to understand living water in the Great Sandy Desert. Steven Bolton

Panel (1 hour)

"Indigenous Groundwater Connections and Values"

Mr Bradley Moggridge (Chair)

Aboriginal Water Expert

Dr Anne Poelina

Social Entrepreneur

Mr Alan Holt

Great Artesian Basin Coordinating Committee Member