Santos QNT water study leader Stephen Tapsall sent letters to Bunnan landholders to request permission to test bores for water quality and depth.

Mr Tapsall’s letter, dated January 19, said information gathered from the testing would be used to determine the impact of drilling for coal seam gas resources on groundwater in the region and then provided to the Namoi Catchment Authority as part of a regional water study.

Bunnan resident Sue Strong said she, along with other residents, were concerned drilling would result in the contamination of the local water supply.

“All the people in the village of Bunnan are dependent on bores for their water,” she said.

“The letter from Santos said that they wanted to test our bore before and after drilling and if that’s the case, is the coal seam drilling really safe in the first place?”

Fifty-five people attended a public

meeting organised by residents last Thursday night to discuss the drilling and water bore testing.

The Save Bunnan committee was formed at the end of the meeting.

Santos principal adviser for public affairs Sam Crafter said that to his

knowledge Santos had not been invited to attend the public meeting but would welcome the opportunity to meet with landholders to discuss any concerns they may have.

“We test all water bores within a proximity of a core hole location, where landholder permission is granted, to gain baseline data about water in the area,” Mr Crafter said.

“All of our core holes drill to approximately 1000 metres deep and are cased with two layers of steel held in place by special grade cement, which is pressure tested to ensure the integrity of the seal.

“This ensures that there is no interference with any of the aquifers that are used for agriculture.

“Once the core samples are taken, the hole is filled with cement from top to bottom and capped a meter and a half below the ground and the site is then fully

rehabilitated.”

Ms Strong said the Save Bunnan committee planned to take its opposition to coal seam gas exploration to all levels of government and link with other action groups opposed to coal and gas exploration in the area.