The Gnangara and Jandakot mounds are the most significant groundwater resources in Western Australia, supporting a variety of horticultural, agricultural, industrial, domestic and recreational needs. They also support numerous groundwater-dependent features with high environmental, social and cultural value.
Declines in regional groundwater levels threaten the environmental, social and cultural values of lakes and wetlands. We need to increase our understanding of how groundwater interacts with lakes and wetlands to support the sustainable management of these systems.
The Perth Shallow Groundwater Systems (SGS) investigations ran from 2007 to 2011. We investigated 10 representative wetlands on the Swan coastal plain to better understand how groundwater supports the environment.
What did the investigation did, and how the information is being used
We have:
- redesigned and upgraded monitoring networks
- identified where surface water and groundwater connect
- provided an understanding of how lakes functioned in the past and the present
- improved our knowledge of the chemistry of wetlands and wetland sediments.
Findings from the Perth SGS investigations support the ongoing management of groundwater abstraction from the Gnangara and Jandakot systems.
Where to get more details
You can download the following reports from the Perth SGS investigations:
- Lake Mariginiup (Searle et al. 2010)
- Lake Nowergup (Searle et al. 2011)
- Egerton Seepage (McHugh et al. 2011)
- Lexia Wetlands (Department of Water 2011)
- Loch McNess (Department of Water 2011)
- Tangletoe Swamp (Department of Water 2011)
- Lake Yonderup (Department of Water 2011)
- Lake Muckenburra (Degens et al. 2012)
- Lake Gwelup (Clohessy 2012)
- North Lake (Bourke et al. 2015)
- North Yeal wetlands (Degens et al. 2021).
Go to our to access data from the monitoring bores installed during the investigation.
Read more about our groundwater investigations by region across Western Australia.
