Calling all citizen scientists to learn more about groundwater

Charles Darwin University (CDU) researchers are calling out for over 500 citizen scientists living in the northern part of the Territory and Western Australia to collect water samples from their bores using sampling kits in a bid to increase water security. 

Groundwater is stored beneath the Earth’s surface and is often seen as out of sight and out of mind, but it is an important permanent source of water in otherwise dry landscapes.  

Despite its importance, often little is known about groundwater, but CDU researchers want to change this with a unique project that relies on the community to provide water samples from the vast landscape. 

CDU freshwater ecologist and research lead Professor Jenny Davis said the community can obtain a free sampling kit from CDU to test their bore water or it can be mailed to them. A free app, Groundwater North, has also been developed to support the sampling process. 

“The sampling kits contain 3 vials which will need to be filled with water from the bores, as well as instructions for filtering water for eDNA (environmental DNA), and a pH testing kit,” Professor Davis said.

“The pH test will deliver results right away and will provide valuable information to bore owners as to the drinkability of their water, something that is so important.” 

“We conducted a pilot project to ensure the methods of collection are suitable and accurate results will be achieved with the kits as well as making sure the kits are easy to use given most participants don’t have scientific training.”

“We have assembled the kits based off these results and we feel they will produce valuable results, however we can make further refinements as we receive feedback,” she said. 

Once samples are received, they will be analysed including measuring the salinity of the water as well as the eDNA profile to determine what species can be detected from the water sample. 

A water sample will also be frozen so that bore owners can compare samples down the track. 

“Groundwater is so important, it supplies people and communities with drinking water, it is also important from an industry point of view with the cattle, agriculture and horticulture industries also requiring this water source,” Professor Davis said. 

“It is important to know more about the water quality across northern Australia so we can discuss and implement water management strategies with appropriate agencies if required and raise awareness of the importance of maintaining groundwater.”

CDU Senior Research Fellow of aquatic ecology, Dr Erica Garcia said eDNA profiling will provide valuable information about groundwater aquatic life and how connected the groundwater is across regions.

“The samples will provide information about the types of aquatic life present in groundwater in regions that we don’t have much information about so this is really exciting, and I look forward to seeing what we might find,” Dr Garcia said. 

CDU hydrogeologist, Dr Dylan Irvine, notes that results will be useful for the future. 

“Having results from these samples can help us to better understand northern Australia’s groundwater resources to assist groundwater management into the future,” he said.  

The project is supported by funding from the Ian Potter Foundation, the Northern Hub and Inspired NT,  and also includes an App which can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play and the Groundwater North Website which will show Results as they become available. 

For citizen scientists who are interested in taking part in the project and have a bore to test, you can contact Professor Davis on jenny.davis@cdu.edu.au to request a free sampling kit. The kits include a return postage bag so there is no cost to participate. 

The project team will be at CDU’s Casuarina Campus Open Day held on August 17 to answer any questions and demonstrate how the sampling kits work.