The primary purpose of the SOBN is to collect groundwater data for observational purposes. DSE sometimes receives requests for access to these bores for other reasons including investigation, research and data collection. These are referred to as Third Party Access requests and include proposed access to bores that are not covered under the current monitoring contract.

These third party access requests are considered by DSE’s Groundwater Monitoring Manager in accordance the Water Act 1989. The following principles guide decisions about third party access:

• access to SOBN bores to extract water for irrigation or commercial purposes will be refused as extraction of this nature may adversely affect monitoring data;
• access for research purposes by academic institutions will be supported wherever possible;
• any organisation accessing a bore will assume full responsibility and liability for any damage to the bore or its environments and must demonstrate adequate insurance cover;
• access will be supervised by a DSE representative where it is considered warranted;
• a copy of all data collected is to be provided to DSE for the perpetual, free and unfettered use by DSE of that data; and
• DSE’s role in providing access to the bore(s) is to be acknowledged in all reports or documentation.

Access Application Form (DOC~83kb)
Standard Access Conditions (DOC~50kb)
Data Format to be Returned to DSE (XLS~14kb)