AN extensive study of the impact on groundwater of a proposed coal mine in the Southern Highlands has warned of a drop in the water table of at least 120 metres in the vicinity of the mine.
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The study predicts that water bores in the 89 square kilometre mine licence area will be drained and the impact will extend over an area of 150 to 200 square kilometres or more.
The proposed underground mine sits within the Sydney water catchment area.
Spokesperson for the Southern Highlands Coal Action Group Peter Martin said the study, which has been peer reviewed, demonstrated that the mine proposal was unsustainable and would have a massive impact on the viability of irrigated farming in the region, on local stream flows and potentially the Medway Reservoir which services 8,200 residents in Berrima, Bowral and Mittagong.
“The groundwater drawdown that this mine will take is extreme. It is right out of the box and clearly unacceptable,” Mr Martin said.
“The impacts on farm bores could be felt within two or three months of the mine starting up.”
The study by respected water scientists Dr Philip Pells and Steven Pells of Pells Consulting and John Lee of Hydroilex Pty Ltd was released last Tuesday.
It has found that the unique geology of the Southern Highlands where the sandstone aquifer sits right on top of the coal seam means that the impact on the groundwater of the proposed mine will be substantial.
Hume Coal wants to dig an underground mine near Sutton Forest and the study predicts that it will need a water licence to extract approximately 13 billion litres (Giga Litres) of water a year on the base case assumptions.
Currently the irrigation water allocation for the entire Nepean District is 16.3 Gigalitres a year. Mr Martin said the study should be the final nail in the coffin for the coal mine proposal.
“The study shows that on completion of the mine, the water bores of the residents in the mining area will be dry as will many others in the surrounding region,” Mr Martin said.
“Taking out the coal is like taking the plug out of a bath.
Only a fool would think that a mine with sort of impact on groundwater should be given the green light.
It is time Hume Coal tabled their own water study to prove that this won’t happen, after all they’ve been drilling in the area for 3 years now and have shown the community nothing.
If they can’t the government should step in to stop this insane proposal and let the landholders of the Southern Highlands get back to the business of farming.”
The report was officially released at a public meeting in Moss Vale last Wednesday night.
