A new iterative report which details the cumulative impact of coal seam gas and coal mining activities in the Surat and the southern Bowen basins has been published today by the independent Office of Groundwater Impact Assessment (OGIA).
The Surat Underground Water Impact Report 2025 (UWIR) models and monitors groundwater and subsidence impacts across the Surat cumulative area and is published every three to four years.
OGIA Executive Director Sanjeev Pandey said the report used world-leading, innovative and peer-reviewed modelling methodology.
“This unique methodology has been developed and deployed by OGIA for this purpose,” he said. “And it means that we can identify impacts more confidently.
“This report also takes into account changes in the industry’s planned development, significant improvements in modelling, and new knowledge about groundwater flow,” Mr Pandey said.
The report follows an adaptive management cycle and ties the cutting-edge scientific assessment with commensurate management strategies and actions.
A finding from this report is that groundwater pressure impacts from CSG development have started to develop in some Great Artesian Basin aquifers, such as the Precipice Sandstone and the Springbok Sandstone. This impact has been forecast by OGIA in previous UWIR reports. No impacts have been observed yet in other aquifers, including the Condamine Alluvium. In total 650 water bores are likely to be impacted during the life of the industry and require statutory make good by tenure holders.
Mr Pandey said the report was important because it not only provides regular assessment of impact but also prepares and updates mitigation strategies to manage those impacts. Responsibility for implementing management actions are clearly designated in the report.
“In the 2025 report, we find that the strategies being used to manage the known impacts on groundwater sources are working effectively,” he said.
“Statutory mitigation strategies from past reports have enabled proactive make-good arrangements for more than 200 water supply bores, so far, and has established a robust network of more than 800 monitoring points.
“This report delivers vital information for industry, landholders and government so that they can make informed decisions about groundwater management in the Surat, and support coexistence,” he said.
“CSG and coal mining target formations are layered within some important aquifers of the Great Artesian Basin (GAB) – the Precipice Sandstone and the Hutton Sandstone – and also underlie the Condamine Alluvium, so it’s critical to periodically assess impacts of activities and keep a close eye on the effects on our natural resources,” Mr Pandey said.
CSG is the predominant resource activity in the Surat cumulative management area, with 11,000 CSG wells currently in operation, and this is expected to increase to 21,000 CSG wells by 2060.
A dedicated monitoring network has been in place through the previous UWIRs and is now extended to 888 water level and water chemistry points, in addition to a complementary network of nearly 3,100 monitoring points in the Surat cumulative management area.
Queensland legislation ensures that a bore owner is not disadvantaged by well operations. If a bore assessment shows that groundwater extraction by the resource industry has caused, or is likely to cause, impairment to water supply, then a make-good agreement must be made with the bore owner.
OGIA will host public information sessions for the community, with experts on hand to answer questions and explain the report in greater detail.
Four information sessions will be hosted 3-6 November in the following regional centres:
- Dalby
- Chinchilla
- Roma, and
- Wandoan.
OGIA is accepting feedback from the community on the report and submissions will close 21 November 2025.
The UWIR is available at www.ogia.water.qld.gov.au/publications-reports
Once community feedback is complete, the final report will be submitted to the Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation in December 2025 for approval. The approved report then forms the basis for implementing statutory management strategies by resource tenure holders as identified in the report.
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