Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Project Background
NSW
Government
Deep water in dams
Desalination
Metropolitan
Water Plan
Groundwater
Recycling
Groundwater Investigations
Leonay
Wallacia
Upper
Nepean
Sydney
and construction of
test production and
monitoring bores
Monitoring
quality
Geophysical logging
Water
level monitoring
Test
monitoring
Safe
yield estimates
Numerical modelling
Hydrogeochemical and
isotope studies
Fractures
Background: Leonay
Leonay is located 60 km west of
Sydney
Located at foothills of the Blue
Mountains
Centred on the Lapstone
Monocline, a major structural
feature of the Sydney Basin
Investigation involved
construction of 18 boreholes,
including 8 deep production
bores in excess of 300 metres
Background: Wallacia
Wallacia is located ~20 km south
of Leonay
Located east of the Lapstone
Monocline and Nepean Fault
Investigation involved
construction of 14 boreholes at 5
sites, including 7 deep bores up to
340 m deep.
Leonay
investigation area
Wallacia
investigation area
Hydrochemistry: Leonay
Differences in chemical composition of groundwater in upper HS
(<100 m depth) and lower HS (100-300 m depth)
Higher EC in upper HS (up to 1,700 S/cm)
Higher EC due to higher clay content and leakage from overlying
Ashfield Shale
Lower EC in lower HS (250 - 400 S/cm)
Lower EC due to cleaner, coarser grained sandstone at depth
Hydrochemistry: Leonay
Upper HS dominated by Na, Mg
and Cl
Piper Plot
Le gend
Lege nd
L1C
C L1D
60
40
B
B
D
C
40
E
D
E L3C
B L5A
B L6A
Mg
Cl
+
60
20
D L2B
E L2C
D L3B
80
+
Ca
<=
SO
4=
>
80
B L7A
20
Mg
SO4
B
80
+K
Na
<=
HC
O3
80
60
60
=>
40
20
E
20
40
60
80
Na+K
HCO3
B CD
E
B
E
D
80
60
20
E
EB D
40
20
Ca
40
Cl
Hydrochemistry: Leonay
Elevated concentrations of iron and
manganese are typical of
Hawkesbury Sandstone
Sources of iron: siderite, and iron
oxyhydroxides and hydroxides
Large spatial variability in iron and
manganese concentrations
Iron concentrations 49.1 mg/L
(max)
Manganese concentrations 3.17
mg/L (max)
Hydrochemistry: Wallacia
Differences in chemical composition
of groundwater in upper HS (<100 m
depth) and lower HS (100-300 m
depth)
Upper HS Maximum EC ~4,300
S/cm
Lower HS EC ranged from 400-1,600
S/cm
Salinity increases along flow path
(west to east)
Higher salinity due to leakage from
overlying shales and upward
migration of brackish water along
faults
Hydrochemistry: Wallacia
Hydrochemistry: Wallacia
High iron concentrations 1.57
mg/L to 60.4 mg/L
High manganese concentrations
0.22 to 2.26 mg/L
High trace elements, CO2 and CH4
in some bores upward leakage
along faults, ingassing from
underlying Banks Wall Sandstone
or Permian Coal Measures
Variation in chemistry in area of
Nortons Diatreme
14C
Ashfield Shale
outcrops in the Robertson area (south of
investigation area)
predominantly dark grey to black sideritic
siltstone
Mittagong Formation
thin unit (average 2 m thick)
fine-grained quartzose sandstone
Hawkesbury Sandstone
up to 180 m thick
overlies Triassic Narrabeen Group and
Permian Illawarra Coal Measures
Site 7
Site 4
Site 10
Site 8
Site 3
Site 1
Site 5
Site 2
Site 11
Site 9
Recharge occurs in
elevated areas of exposed
sandstone
Site 1 (s)
Site 1 (PB)
Site 2 (a)
Site 2 (p)
Site 2 (s)
Site 2 (d)
Site 2 (PB)
Site 3 (PB)
Site 4 (s)
Site 4 (PB)
Site 5 (s)
Site 5 (PB)
Site 6 (PB)
Site 7 (PB)
Site 8 (PB)
Site 9 (p)
Site 9 (s)
Sie 9 (d )
Site 9 (PB)
Site 1 0 (PB)
Site 1 1 (PB)
Site 1 2 (PB)
Spring
Surfa ce Water
80
60
80
60
40
40
20
20
Mg
Primary
recharge z one
SO4
80
80
60
60
40
40
20
20
60
40
20
Na+K
20
HCO3
40
60
80
Cl
Conclusions
The hydrochemistry and groundwater age data allowed a better
understanding of the groundwater systems and suitability of the
Hawkesbury Sandstone aquifer as a drinking water source.