SYDNEY, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Researchers from Australia's University of Sydney have discovered an underground, water-storing basin that stretches across the country's eastern seaboard which could store water for times of drought.
The research, published in Nature's Scientific Reports and released to the public on Monday, simulated the flow of water in three connected underground basins that stretch over 800 km between the cities of Brisbane in Australia's north, and Canberra to the south.
Lead author on the study, Dr. Ben Mather from the University of Sydney's School of Geosciences, told Xinhua the vast basins could capture up to 20 percent of the runoff water from Australia's recent floods.
"The groundwater superhighway is essentially a whole bunch of rock layers that are built from Permian to Triassic sediments, which are 50 to 300-million-year-old sediments. And they transport vast amounts of water over long distances."
Not only do the large water basins act as storage for water, absorbing water during times of intense rainfall which can be tapped into during times of drought, they also help spread water geographically.
"Surface and groundwater sources are connected. Groundwater acts as a buffer during flood and drought, by either soaking up or providing water supplies as the situation demands."
"We found that the Sydney (water) basin ... can transport water up to three meters per day, which is record-breaking on the global stage."
However, Mather noted that over the last two decades, groundwater levels, or the water table, had dropped by as much as 17 meters in agricultural regions, indicating that more would need to be understood to sustainably tap into this hidden supply of water.
"As groundwater levels drop and stop naturally replenishing rivers, water evaporation leaves salt behind, with negative implications for rural and urban water users."
Mather and his team's research has received funding from the government of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW). They hope this initial research would form the basis for using groundwater in a sustainable and mutually beneficial way.
"Now that we have this model, we can start to refine down from there, and really help farmers and other users of the groundwater to determine which of the most productive aquifers are within their local region." ■
