The Northern Territory’s Water Resources Division has played an indispensable role in shaping the Territory’s future.

Over the past 70 years, the Division has grown from a fledgling operation into the mainstay of water resource management, responsible for investigating, developing and protecting the Territory’s
water resources.

When the Water Resources Division was established, the Territory was largely an unexplored frontier.

Water-related activities were handled by several disparate agencies, including the Agriculture Branch, Animal Industry Branch, Mines Branch and the Department of Works. But a more unified approach was needed to meet the growing demands of a developing Territory.

And so, in 1955, the Water Resources Division was formed, and central within it, Drilling Services.

Opening up and developing this part of the world meant sourcing and supplying water to towns, communities and coastal areas, which required the establishment of transport links, such as roads and barge services, to even the most remote parts of the Territory.

A key development came in 1961 with the introduction of the Water Supplies Development Ordinance, later known as the Dud Bore Scheme.

The scheme offered financial support to pastoral stations by compensating landholders for non-productive
bores and providing loans for water development. The scheme also accelerated groundwater resource mapping and extending Water Resources’ knowledge of water availability across the NT’s vast,
arid landscape.

Manager of Drilling Services Mark Ballard says the scheme has helped open up the cattle industry.

“Some of the bores originally found to be duds were later worked over and deepened, then fitted with pumps to become operational,” he says.

He worked on some at Riveren Station that successfully found water deeper.

“The more successful stations used the scheme extensively to expand their water access.”

Drilling has been essential to understanding, documenting and monitoring the NT’s groundwater resources during the past 70 years and the Territory remains the only government-operated drilling service in the country.

One of the most extraordinary feats in the Division’s history was the rehabilitation of McDills Bore in the Simpson Desert. Originally drilled as an oil exploration well in 1961, it unexpectedly struck a high-pressure artesian water supply at 550 metres below ground. When the bore’s sealing failed, it created a three kilometre-long, one kilometre-wide lake. Containing the flow became one of Drilling Services most complex challenges.

“It was a massive logistical effort,” Mr Ballard says.

“We had to tow equipment through sand dunes, take in 24 tonnes of mud to control the well, and manage a tight operational window to ensure everything worked on the first attempt. It’s now a controlled flow of six litres per second, supporting a unique desert ecosystem that has developed around the lake.”

Drilling technology has evolved significantly since 1955. Early efforts relied on cable tool rigs, with one bore at Alexander Station taking 18 months to complete. The introduction of rotary rigs in 1959 brought faster penetration rates and the ability to drill in hard rock.

The biggest advances have been in compressor size and hydraulic technology that has allowed for greater depths, faster drilling rates, and safer operations for drill crews.

Automation has further changed the way crews operate.

“Today’s young operators are adept at using touchscreen controls for hydraulic systems,” Mr Ballard says.

“It’s a big change from the clutch-and-brake systems we used to operate.”

Other advances include remote sensing of bores and gauging stations, as well as the development of more efficient rigs to achieve greater depths, all contributing to a better understanding of water resources. Such innovations ensure the Territory’s water assets are mapped, monitored and managed sustainably for
future generations.

Executive Director of Water Resources, Amy Dysart, says the first 50 years of the Water Resources Division were about building the understanding of water resources, while the past few decades have been about licensing water extraction.

“The next era of the Division will be about regulating water use to maintain sustainability,” she says.

“We are fortunate that we are still in the relatively early stages of development so we can apply the lessons learned elsewhere, as well as benefitting from significant advances in technological and ecological understanding locally and internationally, to the management of our water resources.”

For the Northern Territory, where water sustains people and ecosystems, the Division’s work remains critical. It’s a legacy of innovation, collaboration and resilience — one that will continue to shape the Territory for decades to come. TQ