• The post you are reporting:
   
  Hi Peter, as I'd posted on a previous thread, water pumped out of the coal seam to prevent flooding of the mine workings did lead to a contamination plume of higher salinity in the aquifer which reached a peak of concentration and distribution in the 1980's. Since that time and the end of coal mining, the contamination plume has reduced to the point where a number of recent studies indicate that it has reduced to more or less natural levels, only one of these studies gives a full set of recent dates for when the water data was gathered. There are 2 studies that indicate that the contamination is still there and will not reduce to natural levels until 2030-2050 but one of these is not based on recent ground water data but by extrapolation from water data gathered in the 1990's and the other does not provide a full recap of the dates of when the 'as is' water data was gathered.
  
  Simply put, Coal Mining activity did lead to increased groundwater salinity, but the plume was not detectable until the mid 1970's (contamination took 70 years to build to detectable levels), no ordinary folks were even aware of it at the time of its peak and it has since reduced, probably to near normal background levels.

Report Post

Your Name

Reason