This report concentrates on the water sources commonly used by extractive industries in the process of extracting resources lying beneath the surface–that is, underground water sources. The report examines the environmental, social and economic impacts of water extracted in this process, and the current regulatory frameworks governing water use.

This draft plan provides a framework to guide the actions of governments, traditional owners, water users and other interests in their endeavour to achieve economic, environmental, cultural and social outcomes for the Great Artesian Basin and its users.

With Cape Town working to avert its ‘Day Zero’, when water taps might be shut off, this new WaterAid report reveals millions of others around the world already face these conditions daily.

Northern Australia contains three major subterranean water systems, with one each in Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Each of these systems is unique.

India is the largest consumer of groundwater in the world and, because its rate of extraction has remained high, groundwater replenishment has been unable to sustain water levels in many of the country’s aquifers.