Datasets for use with the Recharge-Discharge Estimator Suite spreadsheets

Determination of an accurate groundwater balance for a region requires estimation of recharge and discharge rates and, where possible, knowledge of their spatial distribution. Where the value of the resource warrants it, detailed recharge and discharge studies are commissioned. These studies provide comprehensive empirical information on spatial and temporal variability of recharge, and the relationship between recharge rates and soil, regolith, landform and vegetation parameters. Where the value of the resource does not warrant detailed research, much cruder approaches (such as the estimation of recharge as a simple percentage of rainfall or the assumption that discharge is non-existent) are used. The CSIRO-led Recharge Discharge Mapping in Data Poor Areas Project jointly undertaken with Geoscience Australia (GA) developed a nationally consistent approach to recharge and discharge estimation for data poor areas which provide an intermediate solution between the use of simple approximations and the results of detailed field and modelling studies.Initially made available via GA's MapConnect website, the data layers in this dataset provide the means for hydrologists to populate the Recharge Estimation spreadsheet and the Discharge Estimation spreadsheet which may be sourced from CSIRO.