Approval For Dendrobium Mine Expansion Will Lead To Destruction Of Avon Dam - A Crucial Part Of Sydney's Drinking Water Supply

If the Baird government approves the Dendrobium mine expansion then the last - safest - reservoir of water available to Sydney will be destroyed. However you can submit an objection up until April 15 to stop this appalling risk to drinking water going forward. You can see how to do so below.

Where is this destruction to occur?

The Dendrobium mine is an underground longwall mine proposed by Illawarra Coal, a subsidiary of BHP.

The mine has been approved to mine 5.2 million tonnes of coal for approximately 20 years.

All underground mines lead to surface subsidence due to the method of long wall mining.

With longwall mining a large kind of grinding machine goes along horizontally and grinds out the coal.

Once the machine has gone past, and the current working longwall panel is out of coal, then a change out occurs.

A change out is where they get all the equipment out of the panel, move it into position on the next longwall panel, and then let the mined out panel collapse.

For this reason NO underground mine can be rehabilitated, and ALL underground coal mines cause surface subsidence.

This is a major problem for surface activities like agriculture as the farmer's fields above are now changed in depth and can't be farmed.

This is most evidenced in Queensland where cotton farming is at risk, while here already the swamps and water flow of Avon Dam have already been substantially destroyed.

What will happen to Avon Dam?

Avon Dam is a crucial part of Sydney's water system as it is the most enduring.

In the past while water levels have dropped in Warragamba Dam, Avon Dam has maintained a constant water height.

In an increasingly global-warming threatened world, clean drinking water will become increasingly important.

Allowing Dendrobium coal mine to further destroy the water feeds into Avon Dam is madness.

As can be seen in the picture a healthy swamp (l) filters the water before it flows via the sub-surface into the dam.

The swamp on the right has been destroyed by underground longwall mining and will now never be a swamp again, and never feed water into Sydney's water catchment.

Not just volume, but quality

RiversSOS

Longwall mining also destroys the quality of the water.

This photo of of Wongawilli stream, and has already been polluted by Dendrobium mine.

Likewise this stream will never be available to provide clean drinking water for Sydney.

That is, it may one day run clean again, but we're talking geologic time here, perhaps in five thousand years it may be clean, but in the short term no chance.

What can we do about it?

The Baird government are planning to sign off on this mine on April 15.

There is still time to object, go to this link on the NSW Planning Department's website and make a submission.

Submission is not complex, you do not have to be a water scientist, and economist or a geologist.

The picture gives you some ideas.

Avon Dam is a beautiful, vital thing for Sydney.

There is still time to save it from mining.