Sydney's Water Catchment areas have the most exclusive protection. A visit to any one of the several large dams that capture the water flow from catchment wetlands is the closest that members of the public can get to these "special areas". The dam infrastructure is a engineering investment for the future made around a century ago, intended to last for centuries.  Yet the NSW state government has granted licences for long wall coal mining under significantly large areas of catchment wetlands behind them.

The catchment wetlands are being systematically destroyed as rock strata are collapsed behind the advancing coal mining walls. Collapse drops the surface level several metres, the thickness of the missing coal seams.  Large cracks and fissures appear at the surface, which drain the swampy wet areas, water streams and rivers alike. These are in no way repairable. This subverts the drainage pattern of water to the dams. It destroys the wetland ecosystems that hold and filter the water.   Large scale erosion of the underlying swamp peat material occurs. The former wetland species are replaced by other species. It becomes no longer a "wetland".

Long wall coal mining is destroying the biological services of the water catchments wetland ecosystem.  This is a destruction of the investment that was made into providing Sydney with what was once one of the best, most secure water supply systems in the world.

A view of the special area boundary over Nepean Dam water.  The fine for trespassing is $11,000. The "Definitely No Admittance" does not apply to underground coal mining operations that destroy the integrity of the surface. This is due to the management efforts of several successive NSW politicians with no sense of integrity, who have been happy to sacrifice the water catchment areas for the blandishments of coal corporations.

When will the coal mining under the water catchment areas be stopped? Who will pay for remediation? Note that remediation does not mean restoration to back to functioning wetland ecological systems, which may be impossible, as water drainage through cracks and fissues widens with erosion. These lands may never hold water again.

Rivers SOS at http://riverssos.org.au/ have been shouting about this for years, but until large numbers of voters show their anger in an election, nothing will be done.

Signs protecting our no longer pristine water catchment areas. They don't keep out coal mining.

 The dams are built to last. The water catchment areas behind our dams area are being destroyed by current long wall coal mining operations and won't last much longer.