Water Management

Protecting groundwater, managing surface water, securing your water licence.

Water is central to the environmental performance of resource sector operations – and to the communities and ecosystems that depend on it.

Whether your obligation is to monitor groundwater impacts from a tailings storage facility, demonstrate compliance with a the regulator Works Approval or operating licence, design a monitoring network for a new project, or assess the potential for acid mine drainage to affect surface water quality, water management demands both scientific rigour and regulatory fluency.

RED OHMS Group’s water management team brings together environmental scientists and hydrogeologists with deep expertise in Western Australian groundwater and surface water systems. Our team is experienced in the regulatory frameworks administered by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (the regulator) and various other regulatory agencies. We provide services that range from routine compliance monitoring through to complex investigative programmes and novel field methodologies – including drone-based pit lake sampling for remote or access-restricted environments.

We understand that water management in the resources sector operates in a context of increasing regulatory scrutiny and community expectations. Our work is grounded in sound science, documented methodology and transparent reporting – giving our clients the confidence that their water management programme will stand up to regulatory examination.

Partner with us today

Capabilities

Design and implementation of groundwater monitoring programmes to satisfy licence conditions, ministerial conditions and voluntary environmental commitments. Routine sampling, chain-of-custody management, laboratory coordination and results reporting against applicable guidelines and criteria.

Development of statistically robust, risk-proportionate groundwater monitoring strategies and Sampling and Analysis Quality Plans (SAQPs) aligned with the ASC NEPM Schedule B2 requirements and the regulator guidance. Ensures your monitoring programme produces defensible, legally admissible data.

Hydrogeological assessment and design of groundwater monitoring well networks, including screen interval selection, casing specifications and installation supervision. Coordination with licensed drillers and compliance with Minimum Construction Requirements for Water Bores in Australia.

Statistical and trend analysis of groundwater monitoring data to evaluate compliance, identify emerging contamination trends and assess the effectiveness of management controls. Groundwater contamination assessments including plume characterisation and source identification.

Design and implementation of surface water quality monitoring programmes for pit lakes, process water dams, runoff management systems and receiving environment waterways. Includes vertical profiling, sediment sampling and biological indicator monitoring where required.

Deployment of purpose-equipped unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to collect water samples from pit lakes and other water bodies where vessel access is restricted or unsafe. Enables compliant sampling programmes where conventional access methods are impractical.

Collection and laboratory analysis of drinking water samples from mine site reticulation systems, accommodation villages and remote facilities. Reporting against the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG) and site-specific licence requirements.

The Regulatory Landscape for Water Management in WA

In Western Australia, water resources are regulated primarily through the Rights in Water and Irrigation Act 1914 (RiWI Act), administered by the regulator.

Mining and processing operations that interact with groundwater – whether through dewatering, process water use, or potential contamination pathways – require appropriate licensing and must demonstrate that their water management practices protect both the quantity and quality of groundwater resources.

Environmental licence conditions under Part V of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 typically include detailed water quality monitoring requirements for licensed premises. Meeting these conditions requires not just sampling and analysis, but the design of a monitoring programme that is scientifically credible and produces data capable of detecting genuine environmental change against natural variability. RED OHMS Group designs monitoring programmes that satisfy regulators and generate the information you actually need to manage your water risks.

Partner with us today

FAQs

A Sampling and Analysis Quality Plan (SAQP) is a documented plan that defines how environmental samples will be collected, handled, transported, stored and analysed to ensure that the resulting data are of known and acceptable quality. SAQPs are required by the ASC NEPM for detailed site investigations and are increasingly expected by the regulator and the EPA for compliance monitoring programmes. They specify sampling methods, analytical methods, QA/QC protocols, data quality objectives and laboratory requirements.

Drone-based sampling deploys a custom-equipped UAV over the water surface, lowers a sampling device to the required depth, collects a water sample and returns it to the operator. It is appropriate where vessel access is prohibited for safety reasons, where pit walls are too steep or unstable for conventional access, or where the pit lake is too small or remote to justify a survey vessel. Samples collected by drone are submitted to accredited laboratories using the same chain-of-custody procedures as conventionally collected samples.

A groundwater monitoring network review (or Groundwater Monitoring Evaluation – GME) is the appropriate starting point. This assesses whether the existing bore network is still fit for purpose given any changes to the site’s operational footprint or water management regime, whether the monitoring frequency and analytical suite remain appropriate and whether the data collected to date reveal any trends requiring investigation. RED OHMS conducts GMEs and produces recommendations for network optimisation that balance regulatory requirements with operational practicality.