Groundwater Investigation and Hydrogeological Assessment
Test drilling, yield testing and the hydrogeological work that proves a groundwater supply before anyone commits to a volume.
The resource has to be proven before it is promised
Every groundwater supply Sydney Basin Water delivers starts the same way: with an investigation that establishes what the aquifer beneath a site will sustainably yield, at what quality, through a dry summer and not just on the day it was drilled. Reaching the water is not the hard part. Beneath the Cumberland Plain and the Hawkesbury sandstone sit aquifers that have supplied industry, agriculture and irrigation for decades. The hard part is knowing, with evidence, how much can be taken year after year without the bore, the aquifer or the licence failing.
That is what a hydrogeological assessment is for. It is the document behind the Water Access Licence application, the basis of the bore design, the number the supply agreement is written against, and the reason we do not commit to a volume until the resource has demonstrated it. It applies whether the outcome is a supply agreement we fund and operate, an irrigation scheme, or a production bore we design, build and hand over.
How a groundwater investigation is carried out
DESKTOP STUDY
Geology, existing bore records, water sharing plan rules and the share components available in the source. This tells us whether the site is worth drilling before a rig arrives.
TEST DRILLING
A test bore drilled by licensed drillers under a works approval and logged as it goes, so the aquifer's depth, thickness and water-bearing zones are known rather than assumed.
YIELD AND QUALITY
Pumping tests that measure drawdown and recovery over time, designed to find the sustainable rate rather than the flattering one, with samples analysed against the intended use.
REPORT
A hydrogeological report that supports the licence and works approval applications and specifies the production bore, pump, storage and any treatment.
BUILD OR HAND OVER
We build the production bore and supply from the test data and either operate it under a supply agreement or hand the design and the asset to you.
From investigation to a production bore
Once the resource is proven, the production bore, headworks, pump set, storage and delivery mains are designed from the test data and built by licensed drillers to the Minimum Construction Requirements for Water Bores in Australia. We construct alongside BG Drilling, and work with Reditus and Tetris Capital on the infrastructure and funding side, which is what lets us take on schemes at a scale most drilling contractors cannot fund or operate.
Where a site would rather own the asset, we design and build the bore and hand it over with the investigation, the test results and the operating record. Where it would rather buy water, we fund, build, own and operate the supply and you pay by the kilolitre. The investigation is the same either way, and it is what makes the rest bankable.
Who commissions a groundwater investigation
Industrial and Commercial Sites
Manufacturers, processors and large commercial operations weighing a second, independent water source against a mains connection.
Data Centre Developers
Proponents who need a rainfall-independent, non-potable cooling water option assessed early enough to shape the design. See data centre water supply.
Golf Courses and Turf
Superintendents and turf farms sizing an irrigation source against a peak week rather than an annual average. See golf course irrigation water.
Developers and Infrastructure
Estates, parkland and major projects that need a groundwater option costed and licensed before construction commits them to mains.
Existing Bore Owners
Sites with a bore that has never been properly tested, or whose yield or quality has changed, and who need to know what it can actually deliver.
Investigation, approvals and the water sharing plan
Test drilling itself needs a water supply works approval, and taking commercial volumes needs a Water Access Licence with share components in the relevant groundwater source, both under the Water Management Act 2000. The water sharing plan for that source caps annual extraction, and where share components are not immediately available they can often be traded from an existing holder. That process is slow and it is the step most projects underestimate, which is why the desktop study looks at it before a rig is booked.
We manage the applications alongside the hydrogeological work, so the scheme is legal, metered and reportable from the day it is commissioned. For the licence pathway in detail, see BG Water Solutions' guide to bore water licences in NSW.