Aquaculture Groundwater Resource Atlas - Canning and Officer Basins

Overview

The interior of the Canning Basin and the Officer Basin both contain extensive sandstone aquifers with very large storages of fresh or brackish groundwater. The groundwater resources lie largely beneath the Great Sandy, Gibson, and Great Victoria Deserts, and are only used by a few remote communities, and by wells and bores along the Canning Stock route. Groundwater is used for pastoral purposes in the Fitzroy River Catchment in the northeastern part of the Canning Basin.

There is substantial potential for development of these groundwater resources, although it is not understood whether the groundwater beneath the desert is 'fossil', originating in a past wetter climate, or whether the aquifers are currently recharged.

Erskine Sandstone

The Triassic Erskine Sandstone overlies the Blina Shale and occupies a syncline (basin) near Derby, and also another syncline in the south east of the Fitzroy Trough around Lake Gregory. The Erskine Sandstone is several hundred metres thick. In Derby it has been subdivided into an upper and a lower part. Groundwater in the Derby area is fresh, although there is salt water intrusion around the peninsula which requires careful management. Current development in the Derby area is for the Derby town water supply, at Hamlet Grove for rural and horticultural use, and for minor pastoral use elsewhere. The Erskine Sandstone has potential for further development.

References: Laws and Smith (1989); Water Authority of Western Australia (1992 - Derby Groundwater Area Management Plan).

Liveringa Group

The Liveringa aquifer consists principally of the Permian Liveringa Group, together with overlying surficial sediments associated with the Fitzroy River. It is overlain by the Blina Shale, and it overlies the Noonkanbah Formation. The Liveringa aquifer is in the Fitzroy Trough subdivision of the Canning Basin, occupying the northeast part of the basin, extending from Derby to Billiluna and Balgo. Groundwater is fresh to brackish. Although it has significant development potential with high bore yields obtained from the sandstones, there is a low level of development, principally for pastoral purposes.

The Triwhite Sandstone occurs in the southern part of the Canning Basin, north east of Lake Disappointment, where it is in contact with the overlying Cretaceous Callawa Formation and Anketell Sandstone. Together there are several hundred metres of sandstones. The water table ranges from 10 to 80 m below surface, but is shallow along the Canning Stock Route, and at Punmu, on Lake Dora, where there are springs. Groundwater is fresh to brackish.

Reference: Laws (1991); GSWA Hydrogeology Report 2645 by D. P. Commander.

Grant Group

The Grant Group is a very thick sedimentary sequence consisting mainly of Carboniferous and Permian sandstones. The major aquifers are the Betty Formation, Carolyn Formation, Paterson Formation and Poole Sandstone. The Grant aquifer is overlain by the Noonkanbah Formation aquiclude, and extends beneath the Liveringa aquifer in the Fitzroy Trough and below the Wallal Sandstone in the north west Canning Basin. The Grant aquifer is the largest in the Canning Basin consisting of several thousand metres of mainly sandstone. It extends over most of the area of the Canning Basin and is the thickest sequence representing a large groundwater resource. The groundwater salinity is believed to range from fresh to brackish. There is a very low usage at present of the Grant aquifer but it is has significant development potential.

Reference: Laws (1991); Allen (1997); Ghassemi and others (1991).

Ordovician - Devonian Limestone and sandstone

Devonian limestones outcrop along the north eastern margin of the basin, and form the Windjana and Geike Gorges. The limestone is a distinct aquifer in the Canning Basin and exhibits karst features. The limestones are mineralised and groundwater usage is mainly associated with de-watering the lead-zinc mines, where large amounts need to be pumped.

Ordovician to Devonian sandstones cover a significant area along the north east margin of the basin and are a potential groundwater resource. However, little is known about the hydrogeology, and current usage is only for pastoral purposes.

Reference: Ghassemi and others (1991).

Officer Basin

The Officer Basin contains a sequence of sedimentary aquifers up to 400 metres thick overlain by surficial sediments. The main aquifers are the Permian Paterson Formation and the Devonian Lennis Sandstone. The Paterson Formation occurs in the west and north of the basin, whereas the Lennis Sandstone underlies the Paterson Formation and crops out in the south east part of the basin adjacent to South Australia. The groundwater level in the Officer Basin is deep below the surface, ranging from 20 to 30 metres below palaeodrainages, to as much as 100 metres below the hills. The salinity distribution is not well known. Some bores obtain fresh water, whereas elsewhere groundwater is brackish or saline. In the area recently investigated in 2000 along the Laverton-Warburton Road closest to Laverton, the groundwater salinity ranges from about 1200 to 2000 milligrams per litre. Currently the basin is considered to contain a very large storage of brackish groundwater. Bore yields may be quite high but have not been tested. Development of the groundwater resource for supply to mining industry in the north east goldfields is a distinct possibility.

References: Allen (1997), Allen (1991); Commander D.P., Western Australian Geologist, No 396, July 2000; GSWA Hydrogeology Report 1991/26 by D. P. Commander.