BSA has concerns that the water from aquifers that lie above and below will be drawn down (drain into coal seams) as water is extracted from Coal Walloon Measure. There is little to no research on the long term impacts.
The Coal Seam Gas industry is predicted to extract up to 350,000 ML of groundwater per year – that’s equal to about two-thirds of Sydney Harbour or the size of Somerset Dam. And yet, there are no laws preventing an unlimited take of this water. All other water users are regulated heavily in terms of their water-take but CSG companies are exempt.
The process of removing gas will involve the drilling of up to 40,000 wells in Qld alone. The risk of Interconnection of underground water aquifers is very real. Farmers, graziers, households and many regional towns rely on underground water. If underground water aquifiers interconnect, a highly salty poor quality water supply could contaminate the nice clean high quality water supplies.
The long-awaited QGC Kenya water treatment plant, which officially opened on Wednesday, is not the saviour to agricultural and community water security that the government and industry are claiming it to be, according to BSA.