Ok thought I should answer my concerns around this and the comments made? I experienced/saw firsthand the contaminated water being flush through our pipes from 2002 to 2014 in Oakey Park. Anytime I rang the council I was told although the water had high levels of either manganese or iron and although it could stain clothing however, it was still ok to drink/use? Never any mention of mine waste water being added to our supply regardless of the reasons they say it has been added?? The water became so strong in taste and smell that we had to buy bottled water and even stop bathing our children (whom as a parent I'm the most concerned about the accumulative affects on their bodies a few years down the track from drinking this) Funny that we still had to pay for this contaminated water in our rates??Most residents I've spoken to had no idea that our water supply had/has an EPA 726 listed mine waste water added regardless of the fact it is held in a holding pond then filtered with only standard sand filter which will never remove all 726 EPA listed mining waste from the water? Plus it is known to build up as bio film in the pipes and will be flushed through straight into our houses? The more I researched the more I learned true fact of the mine waste water being added is because the Clarence Colliery was constantly being fined by the EPA for the contaminating the stream behind the colliery which was causing deformities and death of aquatic life forms and apparently this contamination flowed from the time the colliery has been in production down into the Sydney water catchment? The council along with mine workers where very concerned to lose jobs in the area? I completely understand this, however, why was there no conversation about things we as residents could’ve done to protect our family’s health had we known the truth about what was in our water? If “all“ and I repeat “all” our local doctors had signed a petition to the government because they were concerned about Lithgow residents health statistics being the highest in the state??Doesn’t that make one question seriously about what is happening to our water supplies now with both government and council’s permission to continue this process? On top of that we now we also have Spring Vale Colliery added and the Cox’s river is affected plus it also ends up in the Sydney water catchment?? If you want to go deeper into this you learn that Clarence and Newne’s areas both had (empathise on the word had) two of the most natural pristine water tables in NSW? Now the level of these water tables have changed massively from mining and other water extractions?? Which is also seriously impacting those areas?? Think about it?? Some of the purest water in Australia being used for mining? These water tables if thought about properly Lithgow could’ve used this water as a drought proofing method for many years to come but NO in the previous council’s intelligence without consultation of the residents we get EPA 726 mining waste water added? Not only that there has been no studies on the affects of human health from EPA 726 listed deep mining waste water mixed with chlorine and fluoride? On the comment about moving if we don’t like it? Tell me what do you think you be drinking/surviving on when there isn’t any clean water left? Have you no concern about the already ill people, those with kidney disease and cancer, the babies, children, elderly or low income who have limited or no choice about the water they get to drink or where they live?? Maybe buy a cup of black coffee or tea next time you’re out and watch the slime scale develop on the top of it as it cools? Photo of water below taken NOV 2016 Oakey Park Lithgow NSW 2790