Codes of practice | Where reference is made to industry codes of practice, and/or Australian/international standards, it is expected the latest version will be used |
Legislation, standards, codes, procedures and/or enterprise requirements | Legislation, standards, codes, procedures and/or enterprise requirements may include: federal legislation, such as Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 state/territory government legislation and regulations and local government by-laws, policies, and plans dealing with: land use, acquisition, planning and protection water and water management pollution and contaminated sites Australian and international standards and guidelines, such as: AS/NZS ISO 14000 Basic set:2007 Environmental management basic set AS/NZS 5667 series: Water quality - Part 11 Guidance on sampling of groundwaters Geoscience Australia, Groundwater sampling and analysis - A field guide Australian drinking water guidelines Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for fresh and marine water quality enterprise sampling and monitoring protocols equipment manuals and warranties, supplier catalogue and handbooks government policy (e.g. sustainable development and impact assessment) material safety data sheets (MSDS) OHS national standards and codes of practice site-specific requirements |
Enterprise procedures for field activities | Enterprise procedures for field activities may include: field notebooks or log books standard operating procedures covering fieldwork, sampling and testing equipment operating manuals, calibration procedures, instrument fault-finding procedures and general maintenance and repair procedures emergency, first aid and survival procedures requirements related to protection of the environment incident/accident/injury report forms |
Sampling/monitoring plans | Sampling and monitoring plans may include: purpose, such as: identification of aquifers, leakage and hydraulic connection of aquifers assessment of groundwater movement, flow, recharge and discharge, and quality assessment of salt, nutrients, pesticides and other contaminants sampling criteria, such as: spatial and depth distribution within target depth to water level for shallow/deep aquifers contamination potential and land use nature of recharge/discharge mechanisms diversity of groundwater use bore accessibility and bore equipment availability sampling frequency/duration depending on purpose, such as level, quality indicators (e.g. temperature and electrical conductivity), long-term quality parameters and could be continuous, hourly, daily, monthly, quarterly, six monthly, annual and long term |
Site and sampling hazards | Site and sampling hazards may include: risk of surface collapse around old wells unsafe stages and ladders working in confined spaces, such as wells, boreholes, wellheads and basements exposure to contaminated groundwater and confined space atmospheres solar radiation, dust and noise handling bulky or heavy equipment |
Safe working procedures | Safe working procedures may include: use of safety harness, suitable clothing and boots, sunglasses, hat and gloves use of breathing apparatus ensuring two persons are present during sampling of wells (one at the surface) testing of atmosphere for oxygen deficiency and flammable/toxic vapours working upwind of known contaminants prohibition of eating, drinking and smoking separation of heavy equipment into smaller units/cases for transport location and avoidance of site utility services securing and counterbalancing of pumps and water filled hoses down the hole testing and earthing of electrical generators, trip out devices and connectors (especially at waterlogged sites) shielding of hot surfaces and exhausts careful handling of glass containers and preservatives regular medical checks |
Drilling and construction of wells and bores | Drilling and construction of bores and wells may include: drilling techniques, such as auger, rotary air, rotary mud, cable tool, direct push technologies, sonic drilling and vibro coring bore construction techniques, such as: use of PVC, stainless steel and fibreglass casings mechanical casing joints screen and gravel packs cement or bentonite seals, lockable caps, bore name and ID label piezometer construction techniques, such as: shallow piezometers bundled mini piezometers |
Purging and field sampling equipment | Purging and field sampling equipment will vary according to the position of the sampler intake, purge criteria used and composition of the groundwater to be sampled, and may include: Teflon, glass and stainless steel items bailers and cords, and syringe devices air-lift, suction-lift, gas operated, bladder, submersible, inertial (foot pump) and submersible piston pumps inlet screens flow meter water sampler groundsheets, scrubbing brushes, hoses, buckets, jerry cans and waste containers cables, batteries, generator and air compressor tripods, stands, swivelling blocks and tools eskies and ice first aid equipment, sunscreen, drinking water and mobile phone |
Sample preparation and transport | Sample preparation and transport may include: filtering groundwater samples using syringes, filter capsules and hand operated pumps sample preparation for major and minor chemistry, nutrients and isotope analysis sampling and filtration for incubated microbiology samples collecting samples of dissolved and entrained or evolving gases labelling and packing of samples to ensure integrity, traceability, preservation and prevention of cross-contamination during transit sample delivery within specified holding times |
Field testing equipment and instruments | Field testing equipment and instruments may include: maps, global positioning system (GPS), two-way radio and mobile phone tape measures and weights, plopper/samplers and water level meters flow cells parameter specific meter or multi-probes, such as dissolved oxygen, electrical conductivity, pH, turbidity, nitrates, phosphates and temperature field test kits for parameters such as dissolved gases, chemical anions and cations, heavy metals, E. coli and biological oxygen demand (BOD) portable colourimeters and field microscopes portable gas analyser for CH4, O2, CO2, CO and H2S sterile sample bottles and other sample containers specific to analytical method reagents, calibration solutions and cleaning solutions media/substrates for presence or absence microbiology field tests filters and sieves data loggers and digital camera equipment manuals and sampling/testing procedures |
Field measurements/tests | Field measurements/tests may include: measuring depth of bores and water levels pH and temperature electrical conductivity dissolved oxygen redox potential alkalinity using burette titration and alkalinity titrator presence or absence microbiology field tests field gas analysis for CH4,O2, CO2, CO and H2S |
Field observations and data | Field observations and data may include: sampling point name, location, time, date and type nature of aquifer and water bearing strata well/bore dimensions and description of conditions pumping status, depth of pump suction and/or discharge water level within well or borehole method of sampling and depth of sampling sample appearance when collected (colour, clarity and odour) results of on-site analysis (e.g. pH, electrical conductivity and dissolved oxygen) details of sample preservation techniques used details of on-site filtration (e.g. filter pore size) details of sample storage method required/used name of sample collector |
OHS and environmental management requirements | OHS and environmental management requirements: all operations must comply with enterprise OHS and environmental management requirements, which may be imposed through state/territory or federal legislation - these requirements must not be compromised at any time all operations assume the potentially hazardous nature of samples and require standard precautions to be applied where relevant, users should access and apply current industry understanding of infection control issued by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and State and Territory Departments of Health |