Thirlmere Lakes Inquiry

Thirlmere Lakes are a unique wetland that is believed to be 15 million years old. The Lakes are within Thirlmere Lakes National Park, part of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area.

Why is there an inquiry?

Over the last ten years, the water levels in Thirlmere Lakes have declined and members of the community have expressed concern at the low water levels. The reason(s) for the declining water levels is unclear.

What will the inquiry do?

On 25October 2011, the NSW Government announced an independent inquiry into the recent reductions in the level of Thirlmere Lakes. A committee has been formed to review scientific literature, historic information on Thirlmere Lakes and information provided by the community. The committee has expertise in a broad number of areas, and consists of experts in the fields of hydrology, geology, geomorphology, climatology, paleogeography, freshwater ecology and mining.
Terms of Reference

The inquiry will present a report to the Government by 30 June 2012.

Submissions received

Submissions received to date

Call for submissions

The committee continues to welcome submissions from the public, individuals, organisations and other interested parties at any time during the inquiry. Submissions may take the form of data (including, but not limited to hydrologic, geotechnical, climatic, visual, ecological) and/or analysis of the data. All information must be verifiable, in-line with standard scientific practice. All conclusions must be backed by evidence.

Submissions can be made by

online submission form
mail to Thirlmere Lakes Inquiry, PO Box 99, PICTON, NSW 2571
email to thirlmere.lakes@environment.nsw.gov.au

The Committee prefers that submissions and associated evidence are submitted in electronic form, if possible. All submissions will be available on the Inquiry web site, subject to the permission of those who make the submissions.

All submissions received by the inquiry are a matter of public record and are available for public inspection upon request. Your submission may contain information that is defined as personal information under the NSW Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998. The submission of personal information with your submission is voluntary, however as the committee may need to contact you about your submission, it is encouraged.

Should the need arise, the inquiry committee may contact you to seek clarification on your submission.

Comments on the draft report

A draft report will be released for public comment in April 2012.

Procedures for making a comment on the draft report will be provided in the future.

The committee

The Thirlmere Lakes Inquiry committee has expertise in a broad number of areas, and consists of experts in the fields of hydrology, geology, geomorphology, climatology, paleogeography, freshwater ecology and mining.

Dr Steven Riley show more

Dr Steven Riley is a fellow of Engineers Australia and a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society, with training, research, professional experience and more than 200 published papers in the areas of Geomorphology, Hydrology, Mining, Modelling and Sustainable systems. He has worked in Africa, India, Philippines, South America, and Australia. He has published a number of papers and facilitated several conferences on the Hawkesbury Nepean Catchment system. Dr Riley recently retired as head of Engineering at the University of Western Sydney after a 33 year career in Universities and the Commonwealth Public Service. He continues to work in the area of environmental engineering, primarily on appropriate energy, water and sewage systems for people at the bottom of the pyramid in SE Asia, India and Africa.

Max Finlayson show more

Max Finlayson is the Director of the Institute for Land, Water and Society at Charles Sturt University. He has spent 30 years in wetland research and conservation in temperate and tropical regions, and has over 200 publications on the ecology, assessment, conservation and wise use of coastal and inland wetlands, the ecology of aquatic plants, and water pollution. He has been involved in many international projects in Asia, Africa, Europe and South America, as well as global assessments covering environmental change, water management, biodiversity and ecosystem services, and climate change. He is an advocate of the transfer of environmental science into policy, and the involvement of local people in science, and has a distinguished record in the governance of conservation and science-based organisations.

Dr Wendy McLean show more

Dr Wendy McLean is a Principal Hydrogeologist with an international consulting firm and member of the International Association of Hydrogeologists. She has a background in Earth Science and over 10 years’ experience in Hydrogeology, with a particular focus on the use of hydrogeochemical, environmental isotope and applied tracer techniques in hydrogeology. Dr McLean has undertaken groundwater and surface water investigations in a range of hydrogeological environments throughout Australia and has extensive experience in the Sydney Basin investigating groundwater contamination, salinity, coal seam gas development, longwall mining, and water resource supply. She is currently involved in an ARC Linkage Project, trialling novel isotopic methods for assessing aquifer and surface water linkages. Dr Mclean is also currently involved in a number of projects investigating groundwater and surface systems, and groundwater dependent ecosystems in catchments in the Southern Coalfields where longwall mining is occurring.

Dr Damian Gore show more

Dr Damian Gore is Associate Professor in Environmental Science at Macquarie University, Sydney. He is a geologist and geomorphologist with initial research in soil erosion, hydrology and sedimentology followed by extensive experience in the management of contaminants and remediation of mine sites or landfills, from Antarctica to the Arctic. He manages the "Environmental Quality laboratory", an analytical facility specialising in X-ray techniques, based at Macquarie University. A career highlight has been the initiation of a $5M remediation of a contaminated site at Australia's Casey Station in Antarctica. Recent mine-related research encompasses sites in NSW near Braidwood, Broken Hill, Gloucester, Inverell and Sunny Corner.

Kevin Thomasshow more

Kevin Thomas has lived and worked in the local area for over 30 years. As a geography teacher he has a background in physical, human and environmental geography. He has extensive travel experience both in Australia and around the world. He has received awards from the Department of Education and the New South Wales Teachers Federation for his work with students, staff and community members. His work as a teacher saw him initiate, develop and attend school trips to Japan and Bali. He also organised reciprocal visits to his school, by students from Japan and South Korea. As a Head Teacher he was responsible for running the Social Science Department at his local high school. He lives within 200 metres of Thirlmere Lakes National Park and is a regular visitor to it. He has watched with dismay as the lakes have gradually disappeared. So, it is not surprising that when he was asked to be the community's representative on the committee investigating the disappearance of the Lakes, he was quick to accept the position.