Summary
Santos has welcomed the NSW Government's announcement of a new robust framework, which will make all water users' monitoring data publicly available.
Energy NSW General Manager, Peter Mitchley said the collation of water data from all industries across NSW will allow for a much greater understanding of the state’s water resources.
“Co-ordinating all water quality and usage data in real time will ensure regional cumulative impacts are properly understood and assessed,” Mr Mitchley said.
“Santos has always committed to ensuring the highest quality, comprehensive baseline data on groundwater and surface water systems across the areas of our operations.
“The NSW Government’s announcement complements Santos’ existing program, which includes real-time groundwater and surface monitoring across more than 300 monitoring locations across the Namoi Catchment area.”
The local community can already access water quality and level data from Santos’ areas of operation in NSW by logging on to the Santos Water Portal.
The Water Portal is a Santos-led initiative to help landholders and communities access the most up-to- date monitoring information, along with long-term trends of water quality and water levels in areas where we operate. The Water Portal is not a regulatory requirement, but the company is leading the way in the provision of this data to the general public.
“This forms an important part of our commitment to operating transparently with the landholders who host our activities and building confidence with the local community,” Mr Mitchley said.
“We strongly support any move that will help the community to gain a more thorough understanding of the water usage and impact of all industries across NSW.”
Santos encourages monitoring to help maintain community confidence in our coal seam gas operations, which our 20-year track record in Queensland shows can be conducted safely, sustainably and without negative impact on regional water resources.
