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In this section you will find detailed information, including national overviews and state and regional level assessments, from the 2000-2002 National Land and Water Resources Audit theme assessments.
Water resources - Overview - New South Wales
Groundwater Management Unit: Unincorporated Area - Clarence-Morton Basin
Introduction
This area is .in the north-east corner of NSW, extending from about Coffs Harbour in the south to the Queensland border (where it is continuous with the Morton Basin in Queensland), and west to Tooloom in the north-west. There are several large towns in the area, including Casino, Kyogle, Lismore and Grafton.
The landscape is characteristised by sedimentary rock formations with a very low angle of dip, in a high rainfall area. Extensive elevated plateau areas in the north have been developed on Tertiary basalt rock which is younger than, and overlies, the sedimentary deposits. The area is drained by the Clarernce and Richmond Rivers which flow into the Pacific Ocean at Yamba and Ballina respectively. These are big rivers, resulting from the high rainfall of the area, but they are relatively short and steep. This factor, combined with the influence of recent sea level rises, has resulted in the dposition of very limited areas of alluvium along their valleys.
The more productive aquifers in the basalt, and in the alluvial and coastal sand deposits, have been incorporated into Groundwater Management Units, and the groundwater potential of the unincorporated area is limited by the capacity of the aquifers to yield water at useful rates.
Vital Statistics:
| Area: | 15,835 Km2 |
|---|---|
| Total water allocated: | no data |
| Total water consumed: | 7,330 ML/yr |
| Average salinity: | 700 mg/l |
| Sustainable yield: | 427,500 ML/yr |
| Depth to top of aquifier: | 40 m |
Further Information
- The following groundwater management units also occur in Clarence-Morton Province
- Alstonville Basalt (NSW)
- Central Lockyer Valley (QLD)
- Condamine - Condamine Groundwater Management Area Sub-Area 4 (QLD)
- Condamine River Alluvium (Cunningham to Ellangowan) (QLD)
- Condamine River Alluvium (Killarney to Murrays Bridge) (QLD)
- Condamine River Alluvium (Murrays Bridge to Cunningham) (QLD)
- Dalrymple Creek Alluvium (QLD)
- Flagstone Creek (QLD)
- Glengallan Creek (QLD)
- Kings Creek Alluvium (QLD)
- Laidley Creek (Upper Reach) (QLD)
- Lockyer - Helidon (QLD)
- Logan / Albert Rivers (QLD)
- Lower Lockyer Creek (QLD)
- Lower Oakey Creek Alluvium (QLD)
- Ma Ma Creek (QLD)
- Myall / Moola Creek North (QLD)
- Myall Creek (QLD)
- Nobby Basalts (QLD)
- North Coast Fractured Rocks (NSW)
- Oakey Creek Management Area (QLD)
- Richmond Coastal Sands (NSW)
- Richmond River Alluvium (NSW)
- Sandy Creek (QLD)
- Swan Creek Alluvium (QLD)
- Tenthill Creek (QLD)
- Toowoomba City Basalt (QLD)
- Unincorporated Area - Clarence Moreton (QLD)
- Upper Hodgson Creek (QLD)
- Upper Lockyer Creek (QLD)
- View the New South Wales Water Resources Assessment 2000 Report
- View the New South Wales Water Resources Assessment 2000 Technical Report
- For more information about water and other natural resource issues link to www.dlwc.nsw.gov.au.
- Link to data available for download on the Groundwater management units and provinces - ARC/INFO export
- Link to the Map Maker to make a map using this information.
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