What does Minister for Water, Nathan Rees' statement that the groundwater borefields were "Off the Agenda" (18/6/2008) really mean?  Does it mean that the Iemma Government has cancelled the project, and that the Kangaloon Borefield will not be built?

NO. IT DOES NOT!

The Save Water Alliance is not convinced that this campaign is over. The Minister has left the door open for the borefield to be built at a future date if required. To read the SWA's assessment of the project's status, click on: "Don't Waste Another Cent"
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Following the News Release by Nathan Rees, NSW Minister for Water, that the groundwater borefields project in Kangaloon was "Off the Agenda", the Save Water Alliance issued a media statement, "Kangaloon Borefield - Shelve it & Save Face? - NO, Scrap it & Make Sense!"

To see the Statement, click on SWA Statement 18/6/08
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Save Water Alliance Inc     Press Statement;  14 June 2007. 

There is not nearly as much water in the Kangaloon Aquifer, as the Sydney Catchment Authority has claimed.

The Save Water Alliance has commissioned a professional hydrologist to review the Catchment Authority’s assessment of the first month of pumping. In essence, his analysis is that the SCA has severely overestimated the size of the Aquifer, and the “recharge” area, and hence, the strong draw-down of water, after one month of pumping is alarming.

The consultant has stated: “The recharge volumes do not equate to a sustainable yield as the latter needs to allow for allocation to the environment, which under State legislation is set to a default of 30% of total recharge unless otherwise specified.”

He has further stated: “The drawdown level produced after one month of operation is relatively large and is indicative of depletion of aquifer storage”.

The Chairman of the Save Water Alliance, Denis Wilson, said: “The consultant’s assessment confirms our worst fears. There is not as much water there as the SCA believes. It is like taking a small saucepan of water from some storage – If you take a small saucepan of water from a bathtub, that is barely noticeable. But take a small saucepan of water from a bucket it really makes a difference.”

“It turns out the Kangaloon Aquifer is equivalent to a bucket of water, not a bathtub full, as the SCA believes,” Mr Wilson concludes.
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The Sydney Catchment Authority has exacerbated flooding in the Nepean River by continuing to pump water from both the Kangaloon Aquifer and the Shoalhaven River into the already overflowing river, the Save Water Alliance said yesterday. 

"To continue to pour precious, stolen water from the Kangaloon Aquifer and the Tallowa Dam into these already flooded rivers is reckless, if not negligent," said Denis Wilson, Chairman of the Alliance.

To read the report, published in the Southern Highlands News (20/6/2007) go to Negligent SCA  Pumping
For the rest of this story, 'SCA in Denial on Flooded Rivers', go to:

Press Statement issued 15 May, 2007.

The Chairman of the Save Water Alliance today issued a challenge to the professionalism of the Sydney Catchment  Authority over their interpretation of the data from the first month's continuous pumping from the Kangaloon Aquifer.

“Instead of being alarmed by their data, the SCA has greeted the results as a triumph," said Denis Wilson. "That shows how little understanding of ecology they have.”

For the full text of the SWA Press Statement, go to:  Save Water Alliance 15 May 2007
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This is the text of a media release from Wingecarribee Shire Councillor Larry Whipper on 10/12/2006:

The Federal Environment Minister Senator Ian Campbell has written to the State Government Minister of the Environment Bob Debus raising concerns that there may be matters of national environmental significance that are protected under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) that may be relevant to the proposal by the Iemma Government to pump 15 billion litres of water per year from aquifers in Kangaloon to augment Sydney’s water supply.

Press Release issued by the Save Water Alliance Incorporated, on 24 January 2007. 

The NSW Government has said that Sydney can be ‘drought proofed by the lakes of water it had discovered under the Southern Highlands’. Not true.  The lake the Government talks about is the Kangaloon Aquifer and it would only supply Sydney with 7 days water this year.