Victorian Aquifer Framework (VAF): Seamless 3D Aquifer Surfaces for Groundwater Management

Seamless 3D aquifer surfaces for the Victorian Aquifer Framework (VAF) were developed by GHD in 2012, with subsequent amendments in 2013. The dataset provides a fundamental framework for groundwater resource management across the state of Victoria, Australia. It was produced for the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action and contributes to the Bureau of Meteorology's National Groundwater Information System.

Use Cases

• Model groundwater flow and storage based on the 3D aquifer surfaces.
• Support water entitlement and allocation planning (SAFE project) based on the aquifer framework.
• Integrate with national groundwater information systems (NGIS) based on the standardized state-wide mapping.

Strengths

• Provides a seamless, state-wide 3D framework for aquifer mapping.
• Funded by the National Water Commission and developed by professional engineering firms (GHD, SKM).
• Available under a permissive CC-BY-4.0 license.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The core data was produced in 2012, with amendments in 2013; freshness should be verified for current applications.

Provenance

Source

Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (Victoria)

Collection Method

Originally developed by GHD using data from Southern Rural Water and Goulburn-Murray Water, later amended by Hocking et al and SKM.

Time Range

Primary creation in 2012, with amendments in 2013.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-27 18:52:13.653683; freshness should be verified

Geography

State of Victoria, Australia