National Hydrogeological Inventory: Australia's Groundwater Systems

Geoscience Australia released the National Hydrogeological Inventory (NHI) in 2023 to provide a nation-wide overview of groundwater systems. The inventory covers Australia's 42 major hydrogeological provinces and includes contextual data on communities and industries reliant on groundwater. The dataset is complemented by in-depth regional studies of the Kati Thanda - Lake Eyre Basin and South Nicholson - Georgina Basin.

Use Cases

• Model regional groundwater flow systems based on integrated hydrogeological and geophysical data.
• Assess environmental and community reliance on groundwater based on contextual information about people and industries.
• Plan water management strategies using summary information for Australia's 42 hydrogeological provinces.
• Conduct comparative hydrogeological analysis between major basins like the Lake Eyre and Georgina Basins.

Strengths

• Covers 42 major hydrogeological provinces across Australia.
• Includes in-depth regional studies for two trans-jurisdictional aquifer systems.
• Integrates hydrogeological, hydrochemical, and geophysical datasets for improved conceptual understanding.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to data_gov_au.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Data analysis and integration of hydrogeological, hydrochemical, geophysical and other datasets.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-23 18:54:45.121266; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Australia, with focus on 42 hydrogeological provinces and specific basins.