National Groundwater Awareness Week - Protecting Tasmania's Hidden Water Resource

​​National Groundwater Awareness Week is an international event led by the National Ground Water Association. The event: 

  • highlights the importance of groundwater 

  • promotes the sustainable management of this critical resource

Established in 1999, the week is held each year in March. In 2026, National Groundwater Awareness Week runs from 8–14 March. The event aims to increase community understanding of how groundwater supports daily life, regional economies and healthy environments, and why careful management is essential for long-term water security.

Groundwater plays a quiet but vital role in supporting Tasmania’s communities, agriculture and environment. During National Groundwater Awareness Week, we are highlighting the work underway to better understand and manage this important resource for the future.

Unlike rivers and dams, groundwater is largely unseen, stored in underground aquifers that provide a reliable source of water for farms, towns, industry and ecosystems. As climate conditions become more variable and water demand changes, improving our understanding of these systems is essential to maintaining long-term water security.

A map of North West Tasmania showing blue dots for all the bore locations. There are around 100 blue dots highlighting how common bores are in the area

All bores in the Northwest of Tasmania - Smithton-Syncline

Across Tasmania, we are investing in monitoring, investigation and modelling to build a stronger evidence base for groundwater management. Below are some examples of the work we do:

Improving knowledge in the Northwest​​​​​

In the Smithton Syncline area, one of Tasmania’s most important groundwater systems for agricultural production, detailed investigations are underway to: 

  • better understand where water is stored underground

  • how important this resource is to the north-west community

  • how it responds to rainfall, seasonal demand and long-term climate trends

This work will help ensure groundwater remains available for productive use while protecting the resource for the future.

A field officer with a laptop on her knee inspecting a bore. There are only pipes visible above ground. The bore is located in a grassy green paddock with cows in the background

Senior Aquatic Ecologist, Rochelle Petrie, inspecting a bore in the Smithton-Syncline (northwest Tasmania)

Supporting water security on ​​the Bass Strait Islands​​​​

Groundwater is also critical for the Bass Strait Islands, where local aquifers provide an essential supply for small and remote communities.

On Flinders Island, rural household and livestock supply relies largely on groundwater, making careful management and monitoring essential to maintaining reliable supplies and protecting the resource from long-term pressures such as drought and climate variability.

We are working to strengthen monitoring and improve understanding of island groundwater systems to support reliable water supplies and inform future planning.

A grassy paddock with green grass, blue skies and some stark, bare trees. The only sign of a bore is the marker post pointing out of the ground which has been painted white and orange

An Artesian bore

​Managing for the long term​​

Together, this work helps to improve how Tasmania’s water resources are understood, monitored and managed. By building better information today, we are helping ensure groundwater continues to support regional economies, communities and healthy environments into the future.

National Groundwater Awareness Week is a reminder that while groundwater may be out of sight, it is a resource we all rely on and one that requires careful stewardship.