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Cumulative impacts of mining on water quality

The Queensland Government commissioned this study in response to concerns about water quality in the region after very large quantities of water were discharged from flooded mines in the Fitzroy River Basin from February to September 2008.

The scope of the study included:

• providing a brief history of mining development in the Fitzroy River Basin
• summarising the regulatory framework for managing the quality of water discharges from mining activities
• summarising existing approaches to minimising the impacts of mine-water discharges on water quality
• analysing currently authorised water discharges from mining activities
• forecasting future mining activities and their potential impact on water quality
• reviewing water quality data, how and where it is collected, by whom and to whom it is reported
• analysing trends in water quality and assessing impacts
• analysing risks associated with changes in water quality
• recommending ways of improving the collection of water quality, its coordination and management
• providing recommendations for the future management of water discharges from mining activities.

A study of the cumulative impacts on water quality of mining activities in the Fitzroy River Basin (PDF, 604K)*

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