Groundwater Information Access Portal Users Guide (2Mb)
How the Portal Works
The Portal is a map-based service. Initially, it displays a map of Tasmania, with location-markers (dark blue dots) showing the locations of all groundwater features from the GWIMS database. From there, you can do several things:
- Navigate to an area of the state that you are interested in, to look for groundwater features.
- Search for specific groundwater features using various search criteria.
- Further refine the results of your search by selecting specific features from within your search results.
- View the details of features returned by the search.
- Produce simple reports showing the details of features, or download data relating to them.
The Portal Webpage
The Portal web page has a header and footer, and four main working areas. It looks like this:
For best performance, use the Portal with one of the following web browsers:
Internet Explorer (version 7 and above).
Firefox (version 3 and above).
Google Chrome.
Safari.
The URL for the Portal is :http://wrt.tas.gov.au/groundwater-info
To make the most of available screen space, you may wish to collapse the toolbars in your browser while you are using the Portal. Also, you can resize the different areas of the webpage, by dragging the bars that separate them.
An Example of How to Use the Portal
If you are considering drilling a bore for water, either for commercial or domestic purposes, you can use the Portal to investigate whether there are other bores in your local area, and if so, how successful they might have been.
Here is an example of how you might use the Portal to investigate:
Using the Portal to Investigate Existing Bores in Your Area |
| |
| Use the map to find the area you are interested in. | Use the Zoom to Location tool, and specify the name of the locality you want to see. Then, use the map tools to "home in" on the particular area of interest. |
| Inspect the map for existing bores, to get a general idea of what bores are nearby. | Look for bore location-markers (dark blue dots) on the map. |
| Retrieve more detailed information on bores of particular interest. | Select the Set Search Area tool, and draw a rectangular search area on the map, covering the bores for which you want more information. Click the Search button to retrieve the details of the bores as your current feature set. The features in the current feature set are displayed as blue diamonds on the map, and their details are displayed in the Feature Set List panel below the map. |
| Examine your search results in more detail. | Inspect the current feature set below the map, scrolling it as necessary. Especially note the Yield values, which show a flow rate in Litres per second. (Note that 1 Litre per second is equivalent to about 792 gallons per hour.) Use the feature numbers or selection to relate bores in the list to bores on the map. |
| If needs be, select bores of special interest. | To select features, use one of the following approaches: Click the Selected checkbox in the current feature set below the map.
Turn on the Select Features tool and click feature location-markers on the map. |
| If necessary, investigate further. | Use the View option to see a display of information for features in the list, bore-by-bore. Similarly, use the Reports option to generate printable reports. Note that, in both cases, you can view or report on all features in the current feature set, or only the features that have been selected. |
There are many ways to use the Portal to find the information you need. This example is only one possibility out of many. See the
Information Guide for more on what sort of information the Portal provides.
Legends for Map Layers
Further Information
Remember, if you wish to drill a bore, you must apply for a permit to do so. Details of the permit application process can be found here:
Well Works Permits.
Groundwater Information for Your Area