The wetlands, rivers and dams of the region provide about 20% of Sydney's water.
With Global Warming, increasing drought, and increasing demand, this water is critical to Sydney's survival. The alternative, desalination factories, are an expensive source of new water and their large energy use further aggravates global warming. The sea near the factory has to carry off the excess salt, threatening the local ecology, especially so if not on open ocean with strong currents.
Longwall coal mining has caused extensive subsidence of the ground beneath the local communities and their rivers.
Consequences of the subsidence include severe cracking of the bedrock beneath the rivers. The river water then sinks into the cracks, disappearing or reappearing further down the river bearing mineral pollution. In some areas methane rises, to the surface causing heating of the soils.
We seek to have buffer areas declared beneath and to a safe distance from all wetlands and streams so as to ensure that catchment values are retained.
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last updated 4/12/2007