A 3D stakeholder communication animation explaining the relationship between coal seam gas operations and the Condamine Alluvium aquifer in the Surat Basin — built to make complex groundwater science legible to agricultural communities and regional stakeholders.
The central claim of this animation — that CSG operations in the Surat Basin have minimal impact on the Condamine Alluvium — depends on the low connectivity between two underground aquifer systems. That connectivity cannot be photographed. It cannot be explained with a diagram without significant simplification. 3D animation is the only medium that can show the spatial relationship between geological formations, the depth differential between aquifer systems, and the flow behaviour that makes the separation meaningful. This animation was built to carry that argument in a community and regulatory context.
The animation establishes the regional geology — the Condamine Alluvium at shallow depth supporting agricultural water bores, and the Walloon Coal Measures significantly deeper. The spatial separation and low connectivity between these systems is the foundation of the entire argument.
CSG wells drilled into the Walloon Coal Measures, water pumped out to reduce pressure, gas beginning to flow once pressure drops sufficiently. Shows the mechanical process of extraction while maintaining the geological context established in Part 01 — keeping both aquifer systems visible throughout.
The low connectivity between the Condamine Alluvium and the Walloon Coal Measures is shown directly — demonstrating why CSG operations have minimal effect on agricultural water supply. Shows the pressure equalisation process post-production and how groundwater levels return over time.
Produced water from CSG wells is treated and redistributed — shown flowing to irrigation, feedlots, town water supplies and industrial use. Closes the narrative on a constructive note: CSG operations as a net contributor to regional water supply, not just a user of it.
The behind-the-scenes footage shows how the Surat Basin environment was constructed in 3D — from the surface agricultural landscape down through the Condamine Alluvium and into the Walloon Coal Measures.
Getting the depth relationships, geological layering and connectivity behaviour accurate required working from hydrogeological reference data. The spatial argument the animation makes — that these two systems are effectively separated — only works if the viewer can see the geometry clearly.
The central claim — low connectivity between the Condamine Alluvium and the Walloon Coal Measures means minimal groundwater impact — is a hydrogeological argument. It depends on spatial relationships between rock formations at different depths, pressure differentials, and flow behaviour that cannot be observed at surface level.
The audience for this animation is agricultural landholders, community representatives and regulators. They do not have geological training, but they will not accept a simplified or unconvincing explanation. The animation had to be accurate enough to withstand technical scrutiny while remaining clear to a non-specialist viewer.
3D animation is the only medium that can simultaneously show the geology, the operations, the connectivity — and the separation — at a scale and clarity that makes the argument legible to both audiences at once. Key requirementsThe project required hydrogeological reference data on the Surat Basin before any modelling began — depth profiles of the Condamine Alluvium, the geological separation between aquifer systems, and the pressure behaviour that governs connectivity. The visual argument only works if the spatial relationships are correct.
The Condamine Alluvium and Walloon Coal Measures were modelled and positioned accurately relative to each other before any equipment or operations were added. The separation between them — visible throughout the animation — is the argument. Everything else is context.
The voiceover narration and animation sequence were developed in parallel. Each visual — the geological cross-section, the pressure change, the water treatment and redistribution — was timed to land with its corresponding narration point. The argument is carried jointly by both channels.
The animation ends with the treated water being redistributed to beneficial use — irrigation, feedlots, town supply. This was a deliberate structural decision: the narrative arc moves from concern to resolution, leaving the viewer with a concrete positive rather than an abstract reassurance.
A 2.5-minute stakeholder communication animation that makes a hydrogeological argument visible. The spatial relationship between the Condamine Alluvium and the Walloon Coal Measures — the core of the groundwater impact case — is shown directly rather than described. The animation demonstrates Rozetta's capability to handle complex geological and environmental subject matter where the visual medium carries evidentiary weight, not just explanatory value.
Complex environmental, geological or regulatory arguments often depend on things that cannot be filmed. Send us your brief — we'll scope out how 3D animation can carry the case.
