Georges River, BHP-Billiton, underground long wall mining, Illawarra coal, Campbelltown, Sydney catchment, environmental damage

Georges River - The Dieing River - Campbelltown NSW

Georges River Macarthur

General longwall mining

• longwall mining process - damage, cause and effects
• backstow - mining subsidence - backstow reduces surface damage, our politicians don't legislate for it
• Cataract river - Cataract river during the seventies
• Georges river dieing - Georges river greatly reduced water levels
• Iluka Creek - Iluka Swamp - Iluka Creek, Iluka Swamp, Georges River catchment
• Macarthurs rivers - Bargo, Georges, Cataract rivers - Broughton Pass Dam, Marhnes Hole, Appin
• Mine subsidence - mine subsidence in the Upper Nepean river catchment
• Georges River photographs - photographs of 7 km downstream of Freres Crossing
• Stokes Creek Wedderburn - Stokes Creek, Wedderburn, Georges River, Campbelltown
• Wedderburn - Wedderburns rivers, creeks and properties
• Wedderburn gorge - Wedderburn gorge, Georges River catchment, environmental damage
• Woolwash - The Woolwash junction with O'Hares creek Wedderburn - Minto
• O'Hares - Iluka - Georges River, O'Hares Creek, Dharawal State Recreation Area, Iluka Creek, Iluka Swamp, Maddens Creek.
• O'Hares - Wedderburn - Georges River, O'Hares Creek, Campbelltown, Wedderburn.
• Dharawal State Recreation Area - Georges River, O'Hares Creek, Darkes Forest.

• gr_punchbowl_kentlyn - Punchbowl Creek at the Basin Georges River NSW
• broken promises - longwall mining - deceit, denial and broken promises
• Cost clean coal - Clean coal, is it too costly to consider
• Longwall Mining - Global Climate Change, letter to Kevin Rudd, Prime minister Australia
• The hidden costs of clean coal - The environmental and human disaster of longwall mining - Multimedia from The Center for Public Integrity Washington DC. Video filmed in the mine and the effects above ground.
• BHP Billiton environmental damage - BHP Billiton, Fly river, Ok Tedi river, copper mines, Irian Jaya, Barrow Island, deforestation Indonesia, environmental damage, longwall mining
• BHP Billiton misinformation - BHP Billiton Illawarra Coal - Rio Tinto misinformation and the publics wrong impression of mining
• Politicians and approvals - These politicians approve longwall mining licences which pollutes our atmosphere, damages our rivers, water catchments and your homes
• Mine subsidence - longwall mining and its impact on water resources
• When longwall mining comes to your town - When longwall mining comes to your town, your home is in the hands of the mining company- from the US and applies here in Australia

Longwall Mining Introduction

Several years ago I read an article in the local newspaper about Rivers SOS as they are now known. They are a group of individuals trying to stop BHP Billiton - Illawarra Coal and other mining companies from mining under Georges, Nepean and Cataract rivers near Campbelltown NSW. A 1 kilometre buffer zone was estimated to be sufficient to stop the rivers and Sydney catchment area being damaged by long wall mining.

They have now been joined by forty or more groups state wide ranging from farmers to environmental groups like the Macarthur Bushwalkers. Each group now represents a community experiencing or about to experience the affects of longwall mining.

The catchment areas

Topographical & Orthophoto Map APPIN 9029-IS Third Edition Published by NSW Department of Information Technology and Management

An area 10 km by 9 km contains the swamps and catchment for Georges River, O'Hares Creek, Dahlia Creek, Woronora River, Waratah Rivulet, Iluka Creek, Brennans Creek, Fourmile Creek, Stokes Creek, Cobbong Creek, Back Gully, Myrtle Gully, Flat Rock Creek and Forest Gully. This is an area where security guards would tow away parked cars of anyone daring to venture into the Dharawal State Recreation Area a short time ago.

On the South side of Appin Road we have the catchment for the Cataract Dam, Cataract River, Lizard Creek, Wallandoola Creek, Green Swamp.

Topographical & Orthophoto Map BULLI 9029-2N Third Edition Published by NSW Department of Information Technology and Management

A few kilometres south we have Lake Cordeaux, Cataract Creek, Bellambi Creek, Kentish Creek and the massive swamplands designated Metropolitan Special Areas which we cannot access.

Despite this area being part of the Greater Sydney catchment many of the rivers and creeks have been so badly damaged as to stop normal water.

The current labour government under the leadership of Nathan Reese is building a water desalination plant at Kurnell less than 50 km away to improve Sydneys water supply.

He is also allowing the coal mines to destroy the natural water supply into the existing dams on a huge scale.

Also located within this area are the West Cliff and Appin collieries

The Basin - Georges River - Campbelltown NSW

The following photographs are from a series taken over a 5 month time frame. The photographs latest photographs were taken as recently as Sunday 6 July 09. Two locations were chosen on Georges River. They are The Basin at Kentlyn and Wedderburn Gorge (this page), both are suburbs of Campbelltown NSW

Location 1. The Basin - Kentlyn - March 09 to June 09

Location 1. The Basin on Georges River at Kentlyn (banner photograph taken during drought early 2009)
Georges River - The Basin

Location 2. The Cause way at Wedderburn Gorge Wedderburn Gorge

Location 3. The Woolwash, junction of Georges River and O'Hares Creek
Woolwash

Location 4. The water guage upstream of location 3 on O'Hares Creek Wedderburn
O'Hare - Wedderburn

Location 5. The water guage upstream of O'Hares Creek / Stokes Creek junction Wedderburn
Stokes Creek - Wedderburn

Location 6. Iluka Swamp in the Dharawal State Recreation Area
Iluka Swamp

Location 7. River crossing downstream of Iluka Creek on O'Hares Creek
O'Hare - Iluka Creek

The waterfall at The Basin on Georges River in the Georges River NP at Kentlyn near Campbelltown NSW.

21 June 09 - The Basin - Georges River

The river is now in flood, note the far side of the waterfall is dry and hasn't had water pass over it for some time. The water flow seen in these photographs was considered almost normal in the late seventies and early eighties.

The water passing over the waterfall is from the Georges River Catchment Area. This area includes the swamps at several locations in the Dharawal State Recreation Area. These swamps would normally supply a slow release of water into Georges River over a ong period of time.

Based on the photographs taken from March to July 09 this isn't happening. BHP Billitons Illawarra Coal have stated that the swamps are healthy so where is the water going. Possibly it's disappearing into cracks in the river bed. Surely that wouldn't account for the low water levels after weeks of rain.

The Georges River Catchment starts in the area occupied by both West Cliff and Appin Collieries. It embraces the Cataract River, Cataract Scout Camp, Dharawal State Recreation Area, Myrtle Creek and Back Gully. Much of this can be seen as you drive along Appin Road from Appin to Bulli Tops.

28 June 09 - The Basin - Georges River

Macarthur dams benefit from recent rainfalls - 16 August 2009

THE Macarthur region’s dam levels have increased after higher-than-average rainfall last month.

The state’s dam levels reached 61.1 per cent capacity last Thursday - an increase of almost 4 per cent from the start of May. The Macarthur region is supplied water by the Upper Nepean system, which includes Appin’s Cataract Dam, Cordeaux Dam near Wilton and Avon Dam at Bargo.

The Sydney Catchment Authority reported the region received nearly double the average long-term rainfall for May last month.

“In May we received 123mm of rain over the Upper Nepean catchment, compared to the Upper Nepean long-term median for May of just 76mm,” authority spokeswoman Kate Hancock said.

“Warragamba catchment received 71mm of rain in May, compared to the long-term average of just 49mm.”

The Upper Nepean catchment received 30mm of rainfall last week. Dam levels were a lot healthier than the same time two years ago. Cataract was at 90.6 per cent capacity compared to just 43.9 per cent in June 2007. Cordeaux increased from 39.9 to 65 per cent and Avon jumped from 49.8 to 73 per cent during the same period.

Despite plentiful rain and "The Sydney Catchment Authority reported the region received nearly double the average long-term rainfall for May last month." see - The Macarthur Chronicle

Water levels are dramatically down in the river. The three photographs show the water level above with a bushwalkers walking the length andf breadth of the river obove the waterfall.

The water did not come up to the bottom eye holes of his boots.

Not very scientific! There is very little water in the river. One only needs a pair of eyes and a camera