⬤ Who are we?

MSH Groundwater is a hydrogeological consulting firm with over 25 years of experience working across Australia.

We specialise in groundwater resource assessment, environmental impact studies, contaminated land investigations, and regulatory compliance by delivering robust, science-based, data-driven solutions.

We can work with you as an additional member of your team or in an external consulting role.

Led by Mark Wakeman, we offer specialised expertise to sectors including:

  • Infrastructure

  • Mining

  • Commercial and industrial

  • Agriculture

  • Energy

  • Government

A photograph of an irrigation channel at sunset.
An aerial photograph of an estuary in Victoria.

⬤ Our clients

Hydrogeological services

⏺︎

Hydrogeological services ⏺︎

⬤ Our Services

We offer expert advice and guidance to tackle your hydrogeological challenges and project requirements.

  • An image of an irrigation system that has been set up using our groundwater resource assessments & licensing

    Groundwater resource assessments & licensing

    Need to confirm the availability and viability of a groundwater supply for stock watering, irrigation, commercial development or mining? We provide comprehensive groundwater assessments that can help to secure water supplies and obtain groundwater licenses. This often includes the interpretation of existing conditions, bore and wellfield design, pumping test design and analysis, hydrogeological impact assessment and reporting.

  • A photo of a basalt mine with two men in high-vis vests standing in front of it showcasing our hydrogeological consulting services

    Hydrogeological advice & support

    We offer end-to-end hydrogeological consulting—from initial scoping to post-project monitoring—to ensure effective groundwater management. We can embed ourselves within your existing team or offer services in an external consulting role. Our flexible and agile approach to project support is something that larger organisations often struggle to match.

  • A photo of an oil refinery in the background with a lake and grass in the foreground representing our contaminated land and site remediation services

    Contaminated land investigations & site remediation

    We support contaminated land investigations based on our hydrogeological expertise and experience at industrial and commercial sites, landfills and petroleum facilities. We provide help with project scoping, monitoring well network design, data collation and interpretation, hydrogeological conceptual models, fate and transport modelling, reporting and/or third party technical reviews.

  • A photograph of a yellow pipe with water rushing out of it into a dam in farmland representing our project management services

    Project management

    MSH can advise on, or manage, your tasks to deliver on the groundwater aims and objectives of your project. This may include contractor liaison and management, the hire or purchase of equipment, field investigation scoping and oversight, health and safety, quality assurance and quality control,

  • An aerial photograph of a red-brown open pit mine representing our hydrogeological impact assessment services

    Hydrogeological impact assessments

    We assess hydrogeological impacts on groundwater, from small-scale dewatering projects to large-scale EES/EIS projects such as infrastructure, transport and mining projects. We use a range of models and analysis to identify risks and guide mitigation.

  • A close-up photograph of a man using a laptop representing our water licensing and permitting regulatory and compliance support services

    Regulatory & compliance support

    We offer expert guidance on water licensing, permitting, and groundwater management—including technical reports, peer reviews, and strategic regulatory advice. Our thorough documentation streamlines compliance, helping projects progress with minimal delays.

  • “Working with Mark was a real pleasure. He had contacts that enabled us to work together and pursue a favourable outcome in obtaining a bore permit. His professionalism and research to put forward to the water authorities was concise and detailed. For these reasons I have no hesitation in recommending him to future clients.”


    — Peter Osiurak, Yarra Valley Farm

  • “MSH and Mark are our first point of call for expert groundwater advice and assessment.  MSH’s expert take on our project helped to define the hydrogeological setting and risk from identified contamination which resulted in an agreed outcome with the regulatory representative.”

    — Jay Parmansche, Director, ARC Environmental

⬤ Recent projects

Providing a flexible and agile approach to delivering practical hydrogeological solutions.

  • A photograph of an irrigation system on farmland

    Irrigation water supply

    Woori Yallock, Victoria 

    Detailed hydrogeological assessment to support the client's groundwater take and use license application for irrigation, ensuring sustainable extraction potential. Included liaison with Southern Rural Water, contractor management, scoping of a drilling and testing program, analysis of pumping test data, development of conceptual model, and hydrogeological impact assessment (including drawdown effects on existing bores and streamflow depletion estimates).  

  • A photograph of an irrigation channel at dawn in Australian farmland with hills in the background

    Yarramundee water supply assessment

    New South Wales  

    Hydrogeological technical support, client liaison and contractor management for groundwater irrigation supply assessment (to supplement or replace existing 3.4 gigalitre system). Phased investigation to drill and test shallow and deep groundwater systems. Includes drilling of pilot holes and test bores, pumping tests to assess groundwater yield and groundwater quality, and hydrogeological interpretation of results. Recommendations provided to the client with respect to water supply feasibility and wellfield design.  

  • A close up photograph of a basalt rockface in a quarry

    Environmental impact assessment for quarry expansion

    Victoria 

    A comprehensive groundwater impact assessment to address regulatory environmental requirements for quarry expansion. Included characterisation of existing conditions, hydrogeological conceptual model development, data gap analysis, risk identification, impact assessment and recommendation of monitoring and mitigation.   

  • Scrubby farmland in Australia

    Large-scale groundwater management

    Murrayville Groundwater Management Area 

    Providing hydrogeological support and advice to GWM Water on groundwater related issues, take and use licence applications, and five-year review and update of the Murrayville Local Management Plan (LMP) five-year review. This included compilation, review and trend analysis for groundwater levels, salinity, and usage across the Murrayville Groundwater Management Area from 30 level monitoring bores and 40 salinity bores (for the period 1999 to 2023). Data gaps were identified, and recommendations provided.  

  • A photograph of a corrugated iron shed in an apple orchard. Behind the shed is a backdrop of bushland made up of tall eucalyptus trees.

    Environmental due diligence

    Agricultural land acquisition (SA/VIC/NSW)

    Conducted site audits and risk assessments for pre-purchase, environmental due diligence on multiple farm sites across Victoria, South Australia ans New South Wales. 

  • An aerial photograph of the Ramsar wetlands and estuary.

    Neoen Kentbruck Green Power Hub EES

    Victoria

    Completion of the groundwater impact assessment as part of EES for a large scale wind farm in western Victoria. Responsible for the preparation and review of the groundwater technical study and impact assessment. The role included desktop impact assessment, data gap analysis, groundwater fieldwork program scoping and fieldwork management, reporting and presentation to the Technical Review Group (TRG); as well as a water supply assessment and assessment of potential impacts to nearby Ramsar listed wetlands.

  • An artistic photograph of a small waterfall flowing into a thermal spring. In the background is an out of focus backdrop of Australian bushland.

    Gippsland geothermal potential

    Victoria 

    Desktop assessment of geothermal groundwater potential beneath a site in Gippsland; for use as a potential hot-springs spa development. The project included review, collation, and interpretation of regional data in the context of the site’s hydrogeological setting. A conceptual model was produced to identify depth to a viable geothermal groundwater resource. A next steps road map to further investigate and secure an allocation was provided to the client, together with preliminary cost estimates 

⬤ Who we are?

A portrait photograph of Mark Wakeman, hydrogeologist and owner of MSH Groundwater.
 

25+ years of hydrogeological expertise.

Mark Wakeman is the founder of MSH Groundwater. He draws on over 25 years of hands-on experience to shape his approach to hydrogeological investigations and assessments.

Mark’s career spans roles in both the UK and Australia, where he has honed his skills as a hydrogeologist working with environmental regulators, water companies, and consulting firms.

  • His experience includes managing projects from regional groundwater resource assessments to detailed wellfield design and remediation planning, consistently delivering actionable insights across infrastructure, mining, agriculture, and government sectors.

    With a background that includes positions at the Environment Agency in the UK, and senior roles with leading companies such as Severn Trent Water and AECOM in Australia, Mark brings a balanced mix of environmental advocacy, technical expertise and practical project management. Holding an M.Sc. in Hydrogeology from the University of Birmingham and a B.Sc. in Mathematics from the University of St Andrews, Mark combines academic rigour with extensive real-world experience.

    His key competencies include the ability to develop robust hydrogeological conceptual models from complex data sets, and to provide practical and pragmatic recommendations.

    At MSH Groundwater, he is dedicated to offering high quality, personalised, flexible and agile services that will meet his client’s challenges.

⬤ Contact us

For technical inquiries or to discuss project requirements, get in touch today.


Mobile: 0407 762 616 
Email: mark@mshgroundwater.com.au

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