30 December, 2013
Mining contaminates Woronora Reservoir, a major source of southern Sydney’s drinking water
The main drinking water supply for 200,000 people in the Sutherland Shire and Helensburgh [1] is being contaminated by stream flows with iron levels 30 per cent higher than those recommended by the 2011 Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.
Iron concentrations in the Waratah Rivulet, which supplies up to 50 per cent of the water that flows into the Woronora Reservoir, have more than doubled as a result of the expansion of longwall mining at the Metropolitan Colliery.
The National Parks Association (NPA) has written to the Department of Planning and Infrastructure Director-General Sam Haddad insisting mining be halted until it can be independently established that water quality will quickly return to pre-mining levels. [2]
Dr Peter Turner, a member of the mine’s Community Consultative Committee, raised concerns on behalf of the National Parks Association of NSW, the Nature Conservation Council of NSW, and the Total Environment Centre, after reviewing the mine’s 2012 Annual Report.
Dr Turner found average iron concentration in water reaching the Woronora Reservoir from the Waratah Rivulet between the start of the mine expansion in May 2010 and the end of the reporting period in August 2012 was 0.41mg/l, more than double the level before the start of the mine expansion [3] and more than 30 per cent higher than the 0.3mg/l limit recommended by the 2011 Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.
“The limited benefits of mining go nowhere near compensating for the damage and loss it causes,” Dr Turner said.
“It is important to note that the contamination increase doesn’t pose a health risk. However, it is clear that mining is degrading the quality of the water reaching the reservoir and this contravenes the approval conditions for the mine expansion.
“The mine expansion was approved subject to there being negligible reduction to the quality or quantity of water resources reaching the Woronora Reservoir.” [4]
Dr Turner also raised concerns that the mine’s operator, American multi-national Peabody Energy, was seeking approval to redefine the baseline period for the next set of longwalls, thus making the increased contamination levels the new normal for the Waratah Rivulet.
“In effect, the company is attempting to sweep the problem under the carpet” said Dr Turner.
National Parks Association South Sydney Branch Secretary Gary Schoer said: “Prior to mining, the Waratah Rivulet was a pristine stream. Now this badly broken watercourse has iron levels so high its water turns a murky pea-green colour and its sandstone riverbed has orange stains. The tainted water of the Waratah Rivulet’s degraded aquatic ecosystem would stain the clothes in your washing machine.
“The damage isn’t specific to the Waratah Rivulet. Past and present mining is breaking down the Special Areas, which are supposed to provide a protective barrier for Sydney’s drinking water reservoirs. Instead they protect the mining companies from public scrutiny”.
Nature Conservation Council Campaigns Director Kate Smolski said: “Given the damage that we have already seen, it defies logic to allow destructive mining practices to continue in the areas that supply our drinking water. We call on Premier O’Farrell to live up to his pre-election promise and not allow coal mining in drinking water catchments.”
Total Environment Centre Natural Areas Campaigner David Burgess said: “The warning signs have been in the Waratah Rivulet for years. Regulators should no longer accept the company's data at face value and the environmental impacts longwall mining is having on our drinking water catchment. It's now genuinely a question over Peabody's social licence to operate."
HOW IRON CONTAMINATION OCCURS
The contamination occurs when water passes through cracks created by subsidence and dissolves minerals, including iron, manganese and aluminium. While iron springs can be triggered naturally, in the Southern Coalfield mining activity is the most likely cause. [5] Once these iron springs start, they can release contaminants for decades.
REFERENCES
[1] Sutherland Shire has a population of 211,000.
[2] Letter attached.
[3] (a) Iron contamination in the Waratah Rivulet more than doubled from 0.18mg/l to 0.41mg/l between May 2010 and August 2012. (b) Metropolitan Coal 2012 Annual Review; Project No. MET-08-08/8.1, document No. 00482778.
http://www.peabodyenergy.com/content/417/Australia-Mining-New/New-South-Wales/Metropolitan-Mine/Approvals-Plans-and-Reports-Metropolitan-Minel
[4] Metropolitan Coal Project Approval, Project 08_0149:
http://majorprojects.planning.nsw.gov.au/index.pl?action=view_job&job_id=2672
[5] Review of the Bulli Seam Operations Project, NSW Planning Assessment Commission, July 2010. ISBN 978-0-9806592-6-9.
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Coal and gasPollution and waste
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