Coal Seam Gas and the Murray Darling
An ABC Radio investigation found treated CSG water, containing chemicals and traces of heavy metals, was dumped into the Condamine River in southeast Queensland. The environment department approved the disposal based on drinking water standards, not stricter aquatic ecosystem standards.
Environment Minister Vicky Darling said she would investigate the matter and said “Our guidelines are very strict and if there are any allowances that vary from that, that’s something I’ll look into.”
She said she did not want the burgeoning CSG industry to come at the expense of landholders and the environment.
Interesting and in line with what I hear from farmer clients in central Qld who tell me that they have seen evidence of illegal pipes across roads from mines to waterways.
Even more interesting are reports of the additional chemicals SA Water is needing to add to the Murray cocktail to make it “safe and fit” for drinking in Adelaide as a result of the contamination coming down the river still from the Queensland floods.. I would love to know what, if anything significant, my water filter cleans out.
Everything dumped into the Murray Darling system ends up down the bottom including excess salt, excess fertiliser and pesticides as well as the debris and flood pollution and waste water from the mining industry.
Is it any wonder that South Australia is concerned about what goes into the river and needs higher volumes to flush this out? It is any wonder there was a huge acid soil problem when the river and lakes dried in the last drought?
And as SA irrigators have already made the infrastructure changes to irrigate efficiently with less evaporation that they believes that those with open irrigation channels and outdated infrastructure should get their additions water allocation from preventing the losses currently occurring?
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