At the age of 81, Gatton local Jim Galletly will today be awarded his PhD.
From 1955 onwards, Dr Galletly taught and conducted research at the Queensland Agricultural College, now the University of Queensland Gatton Campus, and observed first-hand the steady decline in the underground water supply of the Lockyer Valley.
In 2002, after many years of formal retirement, Dr Galletly returned to UQ to complete a PhD with a thesis explaining how the underground water used to be replenished and how the process was misunderstood, thereby allowing aquifer mining.
His thesis titled "Baseflow in Lockyer Creek" concentrated on the mechanics of aquifer recharge and found that, in the Lockyer Valley, baseflow comes from springs in basalt country at the head of the creeks.
He developed an original, process-based method for separating baseflow from overland flow which may prove to be the main hydrological contribution of the thesis.
"The thesis has major management implications for the Lockyer and other catchments and I would like it to be widely known that in some parts of Australia, only a small proportion of water used for irrigation is measured because the source and significance of baseflow is not recognised," he said.
"This is especially so in the Lockyer Valley. If we aim to manage our water resources scientifically, we should measure all water use so that we know what we have, where it is, who is using it, and for what purposes."
Dr Galletly said now that the real situation had been explained, all irrigation water use in the Valley should be measured and regulated.
"If you don't measure it, you aren't managing it," he said.
Dr Jeff Tullberg, Dr Galletly's PhD supervisor, said it was a very rewarding experience to advise a mature student.
"Most students have to look at their ideas in the light of the research literature. Jim did this and then applied the test: how does this idea contribute to explaining what I have seen over the past 65 years?" he said.
"Jim remembers the Lockyer Creek as it used to be: flowing most of the year and a place of beauty where Gatton College students rambled, swam and had raft races.
"His vision is that we can learn to manage the system properly, now and for posterity, even with reduced rainfall. This will allow restoration of the creek and the irrigation industry it supports, throughout the Valley."
Students graduating from UQ's Faculty of Natural Resources, Agriculture and Veterinary Science, including Dr Galletly, will receive their degrees at today's 11am ceremony at the Gatton Campus.
Media: Dr Galletly (s3257030@student.uq.edu.au) or Kat Hill at UQ Communications (07 3365 9723)
