Recently, the Burnett Mary Regional Group (BMRG) had the opportunity to visit K’gari with Conway Burns and Bob Broome from the Butchulla Aboriginal Corporation for an important new groundwater management project.

The groundwater resources on the world’s largest sand island are vast but poorly understood. Currently, there are only ten groundwater monitoring bores located on K’gari, all within the southern lakes district. In comparison, the world’s second-largest sand island, Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island), has 49 groundwater monitoring bores. This project aims to construct eight new groundwater monitoring bores at strategic sites across K’gari, guided by the Butchulla people.

While on K’gari, the team took the opportunity to measure the groundwater levels in the existing monitoring bores, known as the depth to the water table. Understanding the depth to the water table can help us comprehend groundwater flow directions, recharge processes and potential connectivity with the island’s lakes and creeks. This fundamental information is critical for ensuring the long-term sustainable management of K’gari’s unique water resources. The drilling program is anticipated to commence in mid-2025, once all necessary permits have been granted by the State Government.

The long-term water level plot for one of the bores that was measured by the team shows groundwater level fluctuations of almost 10m in response to wet and dry years, which emphasises the importance of additional monitoring.

This project, Indigenous and Conventional Scientific Approaches to Fire and Water Management on K’gari, is funded by the Australian Government Natural Heritage Trust and delivered by BMRG, a member of the Commonwealth Regional Delivery Partners panel, working in partnership with the Butchulla Aboriginal Corporation and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Services.

Article submitted by the Burnett Mary Regional Group for NRM