Michael Johnsen MP, Member for Upper Hunter has announced the drilling of the monitoring bores near Gloucester.

Mr. Johnsen said "this is another step in the NSW Government’s commitment to provide the Gloucester community with improved access to information on regional water systems.

“This week drilling and construction will commence on new groundwater monitoring bores in the area between Gloucester and Stratford,” Mr Johnsen said.

“A total of seven sites have been selected, with two bores; one deep at around 160 metres and one shallow at 60 metres, to be constructed at each site, starting at a location off Fairbairns Lane, just south of Gloucester.

“The installation of these monitoring bores will provide ‘real-time’ data to be used as baseline information in an area proposed for coal seam gas development and the expansion of coal mining.”

Mr Johnsen said the Gloucester bores were part of an expansion of the Office of Water’s groundwater monitoring capabilities in areas across NSW where proposals for coal seam gas and mining exploration are increasing.

“The expansion of the groundwater monitoring network will initially focus on the Gunnedah, Gloucester and Clarence-Moreton basins, and will use state-of-the-art technology to provide baseline water profiles and on-going monitoring capabilities.

“These new bores are part of a new ‘Water Monitoring Framework’ initiative that will transform how water data and information is captured and used to protect our water 

resources,” Mr Johnsen said.

The drilling and construction of the groundwater bores is expected to take approximately three months.

A fact sheet regarding the Gloucester groundwater monitoring bore drilling project, together with the associated Review of Environmental Factors, is available on the Office of Water website www.water.nsw.gov.au

Data generated at these new monitoring bores once commissioned, will be published on the Our Water website www.ourwater.nsw.gov.au