Solid Energy began the program last year to provide consultant water treatment engineers with data to compile a comprehensive water management plan and provide baseline water quality data to assess the plan’s effectiveness in the future.
Since August 2004, 10 recording sites for variables such as automatic flow, pH, conductivity and turbidity have been established in Stockton Plateau streams and rivers.
This information is being shared and interpreted jointly by the Stockton Consultative Group, which includes Ngakawau Riverwatch, Buller District Council, West Coast Regional Council and the Department of Conservation.
Several automatic flow and metal analysis sites have been established to monitor the effects of historic mining at the Millerton, Fly Creek, Mt William and Charming Creek sites on the water quality of the Ngakawau River.
Solid Energy said the results would show the dominant polluting mines and would help prioritise site remediation efforts.
Automatic flow and water quality analysis sites have been established in the Welman Basin, Reefton and Bishop Block, Greymouth, during the last 12 months. These are providing baseline environmental data for potential mining applications.
The Stockton mine holds about 16 million tonnes of recoverable coal within the present mine licence, with an estimated 55Mt of coal in the Upper Waimangaroa and Millerton reserves, areas adjacent to Stockton.
