Study stokes farmers' fear on coalmines FARMERS have endorsed a report that claims the coalmines planned for central Queensland's Galilee Basin may rob them of bore water. The report found that if all nine mines planned for the area go ahead, then up to 2 1/2 Sydney Harbours worth of groundwater could be lost as a result of water being pumped out or drained. The report, written by former senior Queensland bureaucrat Tom Crothers and backed by the Lock the Gate group, claims the loss of 1354 billion litres will put at risk livestock and household supplies from more than 400 bores on properties, along with the townships of Alpha and Jericho. It also claims there is a potential risk to the Great Artesian Basin through the impact on the layers that separate the basin from the mines. The Galilee Basin is 400km inland and is generally dry at the best of times, with underground water the main water source in the area. Under the previous Queensland Labor government, there were plans to pipe water to the region from a proposed dam near the coast, but these were cancelled by the Newman government after industry baulked at the cost. The Liberal National Party government has admitted it has no definite plans to get the water needed for mining to the region, but says that with mining not due to start until 2017, there is still time to find a solution.