Australia’s groundwater community will gather in Canberra in November to bring our pressing groundwater issues to the surface. Scientific, government, research and industry specialists will gather for the largest national think tank on groundwater science and management, in Canberra from 3-5 November.
Calling for the forum are two of Australia’s leaders in groundwater science and management; Professor Craig Simmons, Director of the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training and Chris McAuley, President of the Australian Chapter of the International Association of Hydrogeologists.
“Groundwater is front and centre in many of our pressing, contemporary national problems,” said Professor Simmons. “It is essential that industry, scientists, policy and managers are working together as a community to address current and future groundwater issues”, he added.
“The effective implementation of the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) Plan, securing the Great Artesian Basin, urban and rural water security, potential impacts of unconventional gas and hydraulic fracturing, mining, Australia’s agricultural competitiveness, and the impacts of climate change on groundwater are just a few of the hugely important contemporary issues that will require rigorous groundwater technical investigations, science, management and policy.“
Chris McAuley added “Our industry needs to continually improve. Learning from the experience of others is critical to ensuring we continue to advance our capacity, as professionals, to solve the challenging groundwater issues our industry faces.”
“The Australian Groundwater Conference will provide an important and engaging forum where groundwater industry, scientists, policy makers and managers can work together to share experiences and insights, discuss and debate the important issues, and collectively define a pathway forward for the groundwater profession and practice in Australia,” says Professor Simmons.
“Our regional communities rely on groundwater. It supports rural economies and offers social benefits. To continue to realise and increase these values, groundwater professionals need to think smarter about the resource and how it is managed,” says Mr McAuley.
Held at the Shine Dome in Canberra, the Australian Groundwater Conference will run from 3-5 November 2015. The conference will be opened by Hon Bob Baldwin MP Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment followed by an impressive list of Plenary and panel speakers from organisations including Geoscience Australia, Bureau of Meteorology, Murray-Darling Basin Authority, CSIRO, Department of the Environment, NSW Office of Water, Jacobs, Origin, CO2CRC, UNSW and the University of Queensland to name a few.
The conference also features presentations highlighting the latest groundwater projects. There will also be excellent opportunities for delegates to network throughout the 3-day event.
The Conference Committee is currently looking for stimulating and engaging presentations. Abstracts should be submitted by 5.00pm AEST on 1st June 2015 via this link
The conference website can be viewed here
Web: www.groundwater.com.au | www.iah.org.au
