The Lightning Ridge Artesian Baths are another special feature of this unique town. Established around 1960 they are situated about 300m east of the town boundary along Pandora St.
The origin of the baths dates back to the establishment of the Llanillo Bore which was sunk in the early 60’s/ The water flows up from the 900 metre pipe from the sub-artesian basin under natural pressure with a flow rate of 20 litres per second.
The water found in bore baths such as Lightning Ridge, Burren Junction and Walgett comes from the Great Artesian Basin and is approximatley two million years old! Natural pressure sends the water to the surface through an artesian bore and it maintains a constant temperature of 41.5 degrees celcius. The bores supplying these baths are only a few of hundreds being rehabilitated throughout the Great Artesian Basin conserving this precious natural resources for future generations.
The Great Artesian Basin is one of the largest freshwater basins in the world, it contains approximatley 8,700 million megalitres of water and underlies 22% of Australia and 26% of New South Wales, the Basin supports 200,000 people and underpins $3.5 billion of production annually. Unfortunaltey flows from bores and artesian pressure have declined drastically, nearly half of NSW’s 1,400 artesian bores no longer flow. There are 7,000km of open bore drains in NSW and up to 95% of water from these open drains is wasted through evaporation, seepage and breakouts, 15,000 tonnes of salt enters the landscape annually.
Today aretesian bores are being capped to control water flow, bore drains have been replaced with 170km of underground pipes. The NSW and Commonwealth Governments Cape and Pipe Bores program provides technical and financial assistance for landholders to install piping systems. This program will save water (the equivalent of 450 olympic sized pools is saved annually), reverse artesian pressure decline and reduce soli salinity. It intends to conserve biodiversity and to help control feral animals, this project will great improve the Great Artesian Basin’s overall sustainability.
For the health and comfort of patrons, the following rules apply to the use of the Bore Baths:
Under Section 632 of the Local Government Act Council is entitled to impose fines for transgressions of published rules relating to alcohol and animals.
Contact Details
Walgett Shire Council
Phone: 02 68281399
Fax: 02 68281608
The water found in bore baths such as Lightning Ridge, Burren Junction and Walgett comes from the Great Artesian Basin and is approximatley two million years old! Natural pressure sends the water to the surface through an artesian bore and it maintains a constant temperature of 41.5 degrees celcius. The bores supplying these baths are only a few of hundreds being rehabilitated throughout the Great Artesian Basin conserving this precious natural resources for future generations.
The Great Artesian Basin is one of the largest freshwater basins in the world, it contains approximatley 8,700 million megalitres of water and underlies 22% of Australia and 26% of New South Wales, the Basin supports 200,000 people and underpins $3.5 billion of production annually. Unfortunaltey flows from bores and artesian pressure have declined drastically, nearly half of NSW’s 1,400 artesian bores no longer flow. There are 7,000km of open bore drains in NSW and up to 95% of water from these open drains is wasted through evaporation, seepage and breakouts, 15,000 tonnes of salt enters the landscape annually.
Today aretesian bores are being capped to control water flow, bore drains have been replaced with 170km of underground pipes. The NSW and Commonwealth Governments Cape and Pipe Bores program provides technical and financial assistance for landholders to install piping systems. This program will save water (the equivalent of 450 olympic sized pools is saved annually), reverse artesian pressure decline and reduce soli salinity. It intends to conserve biodiversity and to help control feral animals, this project will great improve the Great Artesian Basin’s overall sustainability.
For the health and comfort of patrons, the following rules apply to the use of the Bore Baths:
Under Section 632 of the Local Government Act Council is entitled to impose fines for transgressions of published rules relating to alcohol and animals.
Contact Details
Walgett Shire Council
Phone: 02 68281399
Fax: 02 68281608