The Goyder Institute is conducting an independent review of the science underpinning reductions to allocations in the Lower Limestone Coast Water Allocation Plan (2012) (LLC WAP). This has been commissioned by the South East NRM Board at the request of the Minister for Environment and Water, David Speirs.

The LLC WAP requires reductions in water allocations to be made in the coming years in six out of the 61 unconfined groundwater management areas. This project will consider the science behind the policies that led to this management decision. It will make recommendations that can be considered in the upcoming re-run of the risk assessment set out in the LLC WAP which is due to be completed by 1 July 2019.

The Goyder Institute’s independent science review will:

1. review the science and data used to carry out the 2012 LLC WAP risk assessment that led to reduced water allocations. This review will focus on groundwater, groundwater modelling, recharge rate assessments, the hydrological and ecological implications for groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs), and surface water–groundwater interactions. 
2. review the science and data that has become available since 2012 that affects how risks to groundwater resources (and dependent users, including the environment) are assessed in the Lower Limestone Coast Prescribed Wells Area (LLC PWA).
3. make recommendations to the Board about the information to be used in the 2019 revised risk assessment, and outline any gaps in data that should be addressed to improve the science behind the risk assessment and/or for the plan’s 2022 review.

The Institute has brought together an expert panel to conduct the review. The panel will be chaired by Professor Craig Simmons FTSE (Director of NCGRT, Flinders University) and includes Professor Peter Cook (Flinders University), Dr Lu Zhang (CSIRO), and Professor Andrew Boulton (NCGRT/UNE).

The expert science review panel will make a series of recommendations to the SE NRM Board which will inform the mid-term review of the LLC WAP and the major review scheduled in 2022. The mid-term review involves re-running the risk assessment that resulted previously in determining the need for reductions. The results of the Goyder Institute project may therefore have a direct impact on the outcomes of the risk assessment process.