Protecting the Green Triangle: experts warn of ‘irreversible’ groundwater decline

The groundwater system in western Victoria and south-east South Australia has begun to show signs of collapse, threatening the water security of SA’s second biggest city

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Some of the best-quality groundwater in Australia underlies the upper and lower south-east of South Australia and parts of south-western Victoria.

But almost 200 years of draw down for agriculture, farming and domestic use has changed the surface drainage. Underground water in some areas has collapsed and water quality is deteriorating, putting at risk not only a fragile natural ecosystem but a $5bn regional economy.

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