2.7.2 Overview

Summary

Landscape groups that intersect the zone of potential hydrological change for the Galilee subregion could potentially be impacted by changes to groundwater and/or surface water systems due to the additional coal resource development. All 11 of the landscape groups in the Galilee subregion have one or more landscape classes that occur within the zone.

Of the 11 landscape groups in the Galilee subregion, most (73%) of the zone of potential hydrological change supports ‘Dryland’ (8134 km2) or ‘Floodplain, non-wetland’ (2098 km2) landscape groups. These landscape groups depend on incident rainfall and localised runoff and as such are not considered to be water dependent for the purposes of the BA. These two landscape groups are considered to be very unlikely to be impacted by changes in hydrology due to coal resource development.

Four of the remaining landscape groups cover very small areas within the zone of potential hydrological change and are not further assessed within this product. These landscape groups are ‘Floodplain, disconnected wetland’ that covers about 19 km2 (0.1% of the zone), ‘Floodplain, wetland groundwater-dependent ecosystem (GDE)’ that covers about 153 km2 (1% of the zone), ‘Non-floodplain, disconnected wetland’ that covers about 3.6 km2 (0.02% of the zone) and ‘Non-floodplain, wetland GDE’ that covers 0.2 km2 (<0.01% of the zone).

The remaining five landscape groups represent the ecosystems that were the focus for the impact and risk assessment of the Galilee subregion. These potentially impacted landscape groups include ‘Springs’, ‘Floodplain, terrestrial GDE’, and ‘Non-floodplain, terrestrial GDE’. In addition, the landscape groups ‘Streams, GDE’ and ‘Streams, non-GDE’ were combined for the purposes of the receptor impact modelling and are considered further in this product as the ‘Streams landscape group’.

Qualitative mathematical models and receptor impact models were built for the potentially impacted landscape groups. Four receptor impact models were developed, representing four of the landscape groups. In addition, 12 qualitative mathematical models were developed for the five landscape groups. One landscape group, ‘Springs’, only had qualitative mathematical models built, as it was not possible to develop a receptor impact model.

Last updated:
6 December 2018
Thumbnail of the Galilee subregion

Product Finalisation date

2018
PRODUCT CONTENTS

ASSESSMENT