Water Management
Cap and Pipe the Bores Program
The Great Artesian Basin lies beneath 22 per cent of Australia and is one of the largest underground water resources in the world. The Cap and Pipe the Bores program, through replacing bore drains with efficient piped reticulation schemes, aims to reduce water loss occurring in the antiquated open bore drains, improve water use efficiency and to sustainably manage the natural resources of the Great Artesian Basin.
The Great Artesian Basin Sustainability Initiative (GABSI) agreement commenced in July 2004 between the Commonwealth and NSW Governments. The program is jointly funding the $32 million Cap and Pipe the Bores program in NSW until June 2009. In total almost 50,000 megalitres of water will be saved when work is completed. Since 2004, 24,000 megalitres have been saved. Artesian pressure will improve over time. It has been predicted that improvements of between five to ten metres in artesian pressure will occur as a result of the work to date.
The program provides financial incentives to landholders to offset the cost of rehabilitating bores and installing efficient piped systems. Benefits include improved water use efficiency, recovery of artesian pressure, re-activation of mound springs, reduced salinity, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity conservation, feral animal control and the adoption of improved land management. In addition, landholders who have capped and piped their bores say that a reliable and strategically placed water supply significantly reduces the impact of the drought.
There remains a significant number of uncontrolled low flow bores in NSW and negotiations have commenced with the Commonwealth Government to extend the program for a further five years from July 2009 to June 2014.