Skip to content

MIKE SHE Public Data Catalog – State Supplement

New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory

Version: 0.1 test template
Purpose: State-specific data sources and hydrological context for MIKE SHE models in NSW and the ACT
Complements: MIKE SHE Public Data Catalog – Australia (national datasets such as DEM-H, DEA Land Cover, SLGA, SILO, Geofabric, NGIS, CMRSET and AWRA-L are not repeated here)

1. Hydrological Context

1.1 Climate

  • humid subtropical climate on the north coast, temperate on the south coast
  • semi-arid to arid far west with annual rainfall below 250 mm
  • alpine climate with seasonal snow in the Snowy Mountains
  • east coast lows causing intense coastal rainfall and floods
  • strong drought–flood cycles (e.g. 2017–2019 drought, 2021–2022 floods)

1.2 Landscape

  • coastal river basins east of the Great Dividing Range
  • inland rivers (Barwon-Darling, Gwydir, Namoi, Macquarie, Lachlan, Murrumbidgee, Murray) within the Murray-Darling Basin
  • Snowy Mountains Scheme with inter-basin transfers
  • the ACT lies entirely within the upper Murrumbidgee catchment

1.3 Key Modelling Challenges

  • irrigation pumping from inland alluvial aquifers
  • river-aquifer connectivity on regulated rivers
  • coal mining (Hunter Valley, Gunnedah Basin, Western and Southern Coalfields) and longwall subsidence effects on streams and upland swamps
  • coal seam gas development (e.g. Narrabri)
  • floodplain harvesting on northern inland rivers
  • coastal sand aquifers used for water supply

2. Major Aquifer Systems

Aquifer / System Type Modelling Relevance
Namoi alluvium (Upper and Lower) Alluvial Intensive irrigation pumping, declining heads
Gwydir, Macquarie, Lachlan and Murrumbidgee alluvium Alluvial Irrigation, river-aquifer interaction
Murray Basin (western NSW) Sedimentary Salinity, regional flow
Great Artesian Basin (north and north-west) Confined sandstone Artesian bores, springs
Sydney Basin (Hawkesbury Sandstone) Fractured sandstone Mining impacts, upland swamps
Coastal sands (Tomago, Stockton, Botany Sands) Unconfined sand Water supply, seawater intrusion
Lachlan Fold Belt and New England Fractured rock Baseflow in upland catchments

3. State Data Sources

Component Source Content MIKE SHE Use
Groundwater levels and bores WaterNSW Water Insights Monitoring bores, levels, bore records Initial heads, SZ calibration
Surface water and groundwater time series WaterNSW Real-Time Data Streamflow, river levels, groundwater levels Discharge calibration, river boundaries
Water licensing and use NSW Water Register Licences, allocations, trades, usage Pumping and irrigation demand
Water sharing plans NSW Water Water sources, management zones, rules Zonation, management scenarios
Soils eSPADE Soil profiles and soil landscape mapping Local UZ parameter refinement
Environmental data portal SEED NSW land use, State Vegetation Type Map, soils Land use, native vegetation zones
Geology MinView (Geological Survey of NSW) Seamless geology, boreholes Hydrogeological layering
LiDAR and spatial NSW Spatial Services / ELVIS High-resolution elevation Floodplain and channel geometry
Mining compliance Natural Resources Access Regulator Compliance and enforcement Context for water take
ACT spatial data ACTmapi ACT spatial layers, LiDAR, land use ACT model setup

4. Water Management and Regulation

  • surface water and groundwater are managed through Water Sharing Plans under the Water Management Act 2000
  • the NSW Aquifer Interference Policy is central for mining and CSG impact assessments
  • coal and CSG projects are also reviewed by the national Independent Expert Scientific Committee (IESC)
  • the ACT manages its water resources separately but within the Murray-Darling Basin Plan

5. Modelling Notes

  • use Water Sharing Plan management zones as SZ zonation and reporting units
  • use the MIKE SHE irrigation module for alluvial groundwater irrigation, with licensed volumes as upper bounds
  • represent longwall subsidence as changes in hydraulic conductivity above extracted panels
  • treat Snowy Scheme releases and transfers as boundary conditions rather than natural inflows
  • model the ACT together with the upper Murrumbidgee catchment in NSW
  • see also the Murray-Darling Basin and Great Artesian Basin supplements

6. Checklist

  • [ ] relevant Water Sharing Plan and management zones identified
  • [ ] WaterNSW bores and gauges selected
  • [ ] licensed and metered use extracted from the NSW Water Register
  • [ ] eSPADE profiles checked against SLGA parameters
  • [ ] mining and CSG influence areas identified