Punchbowl creek- Campbelltown - Georges River - Kentlyn - O'Hares Creek - The Basin

Longwall Mining links

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 dyeing - 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, Marhnyes 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 - Wedderburn's 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
• 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 licence's 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

Punchbowl Creek - The Basin - Georges River photographs 10 March 2010

Punchbowl Creek and its catchment has been protected by the Australian army since the early 1900's. The army has used the area for live firing which has kept the public out of the area and left the catchment in pristine condition to this day.

Lack of historical information aids the mining industry.

The BHP Billiton Illawarra Coal Bulli Coal Seam project will change this situation and their longwall mining machinery will work under 50 square kilometers of Punchbowl creeks headwaters some time within the next thirty years.

In the past we have been unable to find any comprehensive records of the condition of these areas prior to longwall mining.

This situation is very much in the favour of the mining industry because there is nothing for community groups to compare the present condition of the Georges River Upper Catchment with.

Macarthur Bushwalkers change of focus

Our focus has now changed to Punchbowl Creek after spending 16 months monitoring the water flow in the Georges River Upper Catchment and O'Hares Creek Catchment .

We have not entirely ceased our monitoring of the Georges River Catchment but it is time to move on and expand our operations to embrace areas of BHP Billitons Illawarra Coal project. In the past we have been photographing areas of the catchment AFTER THE ONSET OF LONGWALL MINING.

Now we are going to monitor Punchbowl Creek BEFORE LONGWALL MINING takes place so that a picture can be developed of the water flow long before they reach it.

Punchbowl Creek Bushwalk

Todays bushwalk aimed at photographing Punchbowl Creek where it enters the Basin at Kentlyn. This is a very useful location for us because we can see both Punchbowl Creek and Georges River simultaneously allowing us to monitor water flow from both.

Water flowing over the rock shelf from the Georges River Upper Catchment immediately highlights the condition of The Woolwash, O'Hares Creek, Georges River Upper Catchment including Stokes Creek and water discharged from the BHP Billiton Illawarra Coal dam.. On the western side of The Basin we can monitor the water flow from Punchbowl Creek and its catchment.

Punchbowl Creek

The entire water flow from the Georges River Upper Catchment is seen leaving the Basin at this location.

The water of Punchbowl Creek was crystal clear and the creek bed and surrounding vegetation healthy .

"Where are our rivers going?"