Hidden water in remote areas: using innovative exploration to uncover the past in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands

Reliable water availability is critical to sustaining community water supplies and determining economic development opportunities. In many cases, particularly in remote and arid areas such as in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands in the far northwest of South Australia, groundwater is the only viable source of water. However, there is limited knowledge of the groundwater resources in these remote regions and the Musgrave Province, where the APY Lands is located, is no exception. Consequently, there is a need to identify and determine the potential of groundwater resources in regions – such as the APY Lands – to supplement their community water supplies and to provide water for economic development which leads to employment opportunities.