Kim Hames

Kim Hames

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    Perth Groundwater Atlas available online

    17/10/2000 9:14 AM
     
    17/10/00

    Water Resources Minister Dr Kim Hames today launched an important initiative on the Water and Rivers Commission web site - an electronic edition of the Perth Groundwater Atlas.

    The original hardcopy edition of the atlas has proved to be one of the commission’s most popular publications.

    Dr Hames said the atlas had been widely used by members of the public to seek information on groundwater availability for irrigation and garden bores, together with advice on groundwater salinity and possible contamination.

    “The audience for the atlas has expanded from the drilling and irrigation industries to schools and community groups who use it as an educational tool,” he said.

    “To capture this wider audience, the atlas has been updated and is now on the Water and Rivers Commission’s web page.

    “Any home owner in the Perth metropolitan area will be able to calculate the depth-to-groundwater for their property with the click of a mouse.”

    The online edition of the atlas has been supplemented with a description of Perth’s wetlands.

    It also identifies Underground Water Pollution Control Areas - these are management areas created to protect groundwater resources that provide more than half of Perth’s drinking water.

    The Perth Groundwater Atlas can be found on the commission’s main web page at http://www.wrc.wa.gov.au

    The electronic format allows the atlas to be updated regularly making it a dynamic system providing the latest data.

    The Perth Groundwater Atlas was launched at the commission’s newly opened information centre - staff at the centre can assist the general public in accessing all types of water resource information.

    Media contacts:
    Sandy Gater, Minister Hames office, 9424 7455.
    Jonelle Black, Water and Rivers Commission, 9278 0740