This dataset and its metadata statement were supplied to the Bioregional Assessment Programme by a third party and are presented here as originally supplied.
A more recent extract of the GMS is now available (Oct 2013).
In addition to monitoring data gathered via the State Observation Bore Network, groundwater information is held in relation to approximately 200,000 boreholes throughout Victoria on the Groundwater Management System (GMS). Part 1 in the title refers to the Access database version. This data is also available in csv and xls files. These have not been included.
The GMS contains data from a wide variety of sources including the former Rural Water Corporation, the Minerals and Energy Department (now part of the Department of Primary Industries), other Government Departments, industry and the community.
The GMS extract has been imported into MS Access database. There are 29 individual tables within the database. For the purpose of IPBA, the most useful tables are "gms_chemistry" tables 2 to 9, and gms_wl_all which contains all of the water level readings. Other relevant information is stored in the National Groundwater Information System.
Up until the mid 1980s the bore locations were plotted on mapsheets and the individual bore records kept in hardcopy. From the mid 1980s onwards a digital database, compiled from the existing records of all Government bores and private bores, was progressively assembled on mainframe computers. From 1969, a permit to drill groundwater bores was required, and the information captured by the licensing process was added to the database. This included groundwater investigation or observation bores drilled by other government agencies such as the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission (SRWSC) and the Soil Conservation Authority (SCA) and subsequent equivalents, although these agencies also kept their own bore databases.
Following the split of the groundwater group from the GSV in mid 1988, the State bore database was duplicated. One copy was merged with several Rural Water Corporation (RWC) databases to become the Victorian Groundwater Data Base (VGDB), the precursor to the current Groundwater Management System (GMS) run by the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE). The other copy remained with the GSV and was developed into the Geological Exploration and Development Information System (GEDIS), which included the mineral exploration bores. Data exchange was attempted for a few years following the split, but ultimately the databases grew into quite separate entities. The current GEDIS database is not included in this data.
Victorian Department of Environment and Primary Industries (2013) Victorian Groundwater Management System Dec 2012 (superseded). Bioregional Assessment Source Dataset. Viewed 31 May 2018, http://data.bioregionalassessments.gov.au/dataset/0e144947-4b0c-4c31-b605-9ecabdf2730b.