'Concerning': Sydney's water catchment faces rising loss to mining, contaminants

Coal mining in Sydney's catchment is having a "cumulative and possibly accelerated" impact on water flows but its full effect is unknown because of a lack of monitoring.

Sydney's main reservoir, Warragamba Dam, was
among areas with the poorest results in the water audit

These are among the findings of the 2016 Audit of the Sydney Water Drinking Catchment, a study required by law every three years, that the Berejiklian government quietly tabled in parliament this month. Just a single copy of the report was available to borrow. 

The audit, which covers the 16,000-square-kilometre catchment that stretches from Lithgow in the Blue Mountains to near Cooma and stores as much as 2.6 million megalitres of water, found "reduced water availability" compared with the 2013 report.

It found mixed trends, with parts of the catchment improving but others worsening. Lake Burragorang – Sydney's main reservoir sitting behind Warragamba Dam – was among areas with the poorest results for surface flows.

Read Peter Hannam’s story in The Sydney Morning Herald - “'Concerning': Sydney's water catchment faces rising loss to mining, contaminants.”