Work starts on 100th bore in State Observation Bore Network upgrade

Work has started on the 100th bore in the State Observation Bore Network as part of a comprehensive upgrade of the system critical for effective water management.

The upgrade is being coordinated by the Department of Sustainability and Environment and run in conjunction with rural water corporations.

The construction of the 100th bore at Spring Hill in central Victoria means two thirds of the first stage of the upgrade has now been completed.

Department of Sustainability and Environment Group Director of Allocation, Irrigation and Trading, Jennifer Fraser, said the Victorian Government has invested $10.6 million to construct up to 150 new monitoring bores in key groundwater management areas across Victoria.

"So far, 99 new bores have been completed, 16 old bores have been removed and six have been replaced," Ms Fraser said.

"The ageing network of monitoring bores didn’t provide adequate coverage of Victoria’s groundwater resources.

"With ongoing drought and increasing demand for groundwater it is vital to further develop our knowledge of the resource so we can manage it responsibly into the future.

"Getting the project this far is a great achievement but there are still many parts of the state where monitoring bores are needed."

Works in the first stage of the upgrade focus on areas without an adequate network of monitoring bores and regions with significant use of groundwater currently or into the future.

So far works have occurred in Murrayville, Wimmera, Spring Hill, Upper Loddon, Hawkesdale, Condah, Avoca and Moe areas.

New bores in these areas will provide reliable information about groundwater level trends ensuring that all who rely on groundwater for their water supply are able to understand the impacts of extraction and climate on the resource.

Find out more about the groundwater...