Water Kit - Hunter Water

1.6 the managing groundwater supply
What is groundwater?
Groundwater is water that has fallen
as rain, infiltrates the soil and becomes
stored under the ground. It commonly
occurs in sandy areas where water can
permeate the soil. Large quantities of
groundwater can often be captured and
stored in underground geological storage
areas known as aquifiers. Farmers and
land owners often search out groundwater
and bring it to the surface using a bore
This water is known as ‘borewater’.
Since groundwater is located underground
and out of sight, it is often difficult to
understand its character. However, studies
have shown that groundwater is critical to
the maintenance of ecosystems,especially
to adjacent wetlands and deep-rooted
native forests that take advantage of the
stored water.
Groundwater forms an important part of
the Lower Hunter‘s water supply. Aquifers
and borewater have always been
important sources of water for rural users
Recent urban growth has meant that they
are now even more important sources of
drinking water for the Tomaree and
Tilligerry Peninsulas in Port Stephens, and
as a security against drought for other
areas of the Lower Hunter.
Hunter groundwater sources
There are many small localised aquifers in
the Hunter, but three have been identified
as significant sourcesof water:
Tomago,Tomaree and North Stockton
aquifiers.They cover an area of 275km
along a 10 15km wide coastal strip that
extends from the Hunter estuary in the
south to Port Stephens in the north.
The volume of water stored in the aquifer
is approximately 60 gigalitres (or 60,000
million litres). This large volume of
groundwater is a valuable source of
back-up water for urban areas.
Of the three aquifiers Tomago is the most
well-known. Tapped into from 1939, the
Tomago Sandbeds are about 100km2
and 18m deep. Across this area, 520
wells draw water up to 26 pump stations.
After being treated at Grahamstown WTP
the water is sent to Newcastle, Lake
Macquarie and Port Stephens.
The Tomaree aquifier supplies water to
the Tomaree Peninsula, whilst the
North Stockton aquifier is maintained
as a drought reserve.
In 2000 new bores were sunk at the northern
end of the Tomago Sanbeds
The Tomago Sandbeds looking north-east
towards Port Stephens
An original map of the Tomago extraction and pumping system
Water kit . ssS . 001 . april 2010
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