| DEW | Department for Environment and Water |
| DEWNR | Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources |
| DFW | Department For Water, which has been merged with Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to form the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources (DEWNR). |
| DTW | Depth to Water below Reference Point (generally top of well casing) |
| EC | Electrical Conductivity |
| Engineering well | Well drilled in relation to an engineering construction.
|
| GDA | Geodetic Datum of Australia; last updated in 1994 (GDA94) |
| Hundred | Refers to a historical map grid made up of areas of approximately 100 miles square.
|
| LGA | |
| MGA | |
| Mineral well | Well drilled for the purpose of extracting geological samples to analyse mineral composition. |
| Mining Production Tenement | Area that is leased for mining purposes. |
| Mining Production Tenements Application | Area for which a mining lease application has been submitted. |
| Notice of Intend to Prescribe | Area for which a Notice of Intention to Prescribe has been issued, i.e. that water resources become subject to the Natural Resource Management Act (NRM Act). |
| NRM Region | Natural Resource Management Regions |
| Obswell | After a water well is drilled, the Department may nominate it for ongoing monitoring (observation) of water level and salinity. In this case, the Department issues an identifying Obswell number and associates it with an Obswell Network. The Obswell number is in addition to the water well's identifying Unit Number. Not all water wells are monitored.
Observation wells (obswells) are important for monitoring trends in water and/or salinity levels across the State. Each Obswell Network focuses on a region in the State or on a specific aquifer.
An obswell number consists of the following:
- three character code identifying the Hundred map area in which the water well is located
- three digit number unique within the Obswell Network.
|
| Obswell Number | The observation number of a well is an unique combination of the hundred (3 characters) in which the well is located and a number (3 digits) identifing that well in the hundred. |
| Petroleum Well | Well drilled for the purpose of extracting geological samples to analyise petroleum content.
|
| Prescribed Water Resource Area (PWRSA) | Prescribed area for which the extraction of water resources are subject to the Natural Resource Management Act (NRM Act) in relation to groundwater, surface water and watercourses. |
| Prescribed Wells Area (PWA) | Prescribed area for which the extraction of water from wells is subject to the Natural Resource Management Act (NRM Act). |
| PWA | |
| PWRA | Prescribed Water Resource Area |
| RSWL | Reduced Standing Water Level |
| Seismic Point Well | Well drilled for the purpose of monitoring seismic activity.
|
| Stratigraphical Well | Well drilled for the express purpose of extracting geological samples to analyise the sedimentary and rock layers, including geological age (timer series). |
| SWL | Standing Water Level (below ground surface) |
| TDS | |
| Unit Number | Unique identifier assigned to each well when the contruction permit is issued. It is typically expressed in the format: 5942-1 or 594200001. |
| Unit Number | First component of the Unit Number is a unique number for the 100,000 map sheet on which a drillhole is located. Second component of the Unit Number is a unique number identifying the drillhole on the 1:100,000 map sheet |
| Water Cut | A water cut is an observation of groundwater made during drilling. It may include data such as: the depth interval of the drilled hole at the time, the depth to which casing was placed at the time, the observed depth to groundwater (not necessarily static); the salinity of any water sampled, and the yield (if taken) at the time. |
| Water Point | Site defined as a water point, e.g. lake, dam, spring, creek or river. It may identify a point at which water sample(s) were taken. |
| Water Well | Well drilled for the purpose of extracting water.
|