In April 2007 the Sydney Catchment Authority published a report: "Leakage and Loss Report - April 2007".

This is a most useful report, in that it provides an excellent map of the metrolpolitan water supply sources, tracing how the dams are related, and where the interconnecting canals run.  There is also a useful map showing where the main coal mining areas co-incide with a number of the Catchment Authority dams.

Increasingly, the issue of mining subsidence is becoming a problem for water catchments and water supply systems. A Sydney Morning Herald report (17/1/2005) that opens up the issue is reproduced on our Media File (National Print Press) page.  See also 'Mine Threatens Sydney Water Supply' - http://www.savewateralliance.org.au/content/blogcategory/19/66/ 

 The SWA Leakage & Loss report can be found with the following link: http://www.sca.nsw.gov.au/publications/147.html
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The previous Minister in charge of the Sydney Catchment Authority (Mr Bob Debus) appointed the Upper Nepean Community Reference Group (CRG) which consisted of Southern Highlands residents with an interest in the SCA's plan to exploit the Kangaloon Aquifer.

Mr Debus appointed Mr Alex Walker (former head of Sydney Water) to chair the CRG. The group's role was to liaise between the Catchment Authority and Southern Highlands residents, and provide residents' views on the Aquifer exploitation to the SCA.

However,  since Mr Walker's resignation earlier in the year, no further meetings of the CRG have been held, and no replacement chairman has been appointed, despite requests from CRG members for a new chair.

Why would a "third party" invoke the Freedom of Information Act to force the SCA to release correspondence with people in the Southern Highlands who are highly critical of the Authority's proposal to exploit the Kangaloon Aquifer?

What is in this correspondence that is so interesting to a 'Third Party'? To read the background, and the correspondence (now released publicly) go to -