The Feasibility Study

In November 2000 the Mt Marshall LCDC appointed GHD Pty Ltd to undertake the Feasibility Study that was borned out of the Supplementary Proposal.

GHD’s task was to have consideration for and report on the following issues:

• Community Consultation
• Risk Analysis and Management
• Catchment Flood Hydrology
• Catchment Hydrogeology
• Engineering Scheme Options
• Non-engineering Options
• Impacts on Conservation Values and
• Cost Benefit Analysis

At an early stage of the Feasibility Study, 55 monitoring bores were drilled and logged to provide calibration and baseline data for engineering design and for ongoing monitoring of the effect of land management practices. Originally budgeted as simple monitoring bores, Project Management determined that it was essential that the higher Department of Agriculture specification for bore installation be adopted so that the data would be more universally acknowledged. The higher standard bores would then be accepted as part of the wider network of groundwater bores recognised by the Department of Agriculture and other agencies nationally. Understandably, upgrading the standard of the bores resulted in an over-run in establishment costs.

Additionally, the horizontal location and vertical level (X, Y and Z co-ordinates) of these bores, and another 64 already existing, needed to be surveyed to provide the optimum research value of data initially collected and later collated as water quality and water levels are monitored over time.

The Grains Research and Development Corporation invested $25,000 in the Feasibility Study enabling the surveying and Monitoring of 119 Bores and the management of information collected including the setting up of this website.

The reports produced during the course of the Feasibility Study underwent several sets of revisions as new information became available, or as feedback was received from the Study Reference Group members.

A list of report references is given below, including the dates for the initial versions of the reports, as a guide to the chronological order in which the studies were completed:


1. Risk Assessment Workshop
2. Flood Estimation in the Beacon River Catchment
(GHD document number 27049, dated July 2001)

3. Phase 1 Groundwater Modelling Assessment of the Beacon River Catchment
(GHD document number 29000, dated July 2001)

4. Groundwater Analyses Undertaken in Support of the Cost-Benefit-Analysis
(GHD document number 2940, dated November 2001)

5. Engineering Options

6. Environmental Assessment of Vegetation
GHD document number 31139, dated October 2001)

7. Cost-Benefit Analysis
GHD document number 31138, dated December 2001)


A comprehensive overview of the Feasibility Study can be found in the report entitled:

Feasibility Summary
(GHD document number 31137, dated December 2001)