Groundwater you're standing on it

摘要

RISING ground-water is a problem for irrigators because it brings salt to the surface and can damage crops. But ground-water is equally vulnerable to pollution and over exploi-Jtatipn, particularly in arid regions, so community monitoring of groundwater is now taking place in many Australian states. In the South Australian Waterwatch program for instance, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has recently produced a groundwater monitoring kit for use by groups like the Marne-Somme Catchment Landcare group who are monitoring the impact large dam construction is having on groundwater resources. The Water-watch school in Mt Gambier, Kalangadoo Area School, is monitoring drinking water quality in the Blue Lake to check whether stormwater is polluting the aquifers.