MINING and coal seam gas drilling are unlikely to cause widespread damage to fresh water supplies in north-west NSW if they remain at current levels, says a report that attempted to model some the long-term risks of the resources boom.
The state government commissioned the independent Namoi water catchment study to estimate the cumulative effects of many mining and drilling developments on water across a whole region.
The results suggest many of the proposed coalmines and gas fields would be unlikely to strip farmers in the state's main food bowl of the water they rely on to grow food, though the researchers said there was uncertainty around some of their conclusions.
But there would be some continuing risks of damage to the aquifers that maintain the rich soil of the Liverpool Plains, and the possibility of river contamination and isolated pollution.
Armidale Express
Editor's Note: Who wrote that report? The Gas Companies???
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