They’re the tiny creatures that have landed Narrabri and Santos in national headlines.
An Armidale-based aquatic ecologist says he has made a submission to the federal government concerning Santos’ plans to drill 18 wells in the Pilliga Forest.
Peter Serov claims he has found stygofauna, an aquatic animal that lives in groundwater, in local aquifers, and says the discovery needs further examination in light of gas drilling plans.
“Their function in an ecosystem is to feed on the bacteria that get passed down the aquifer and basically act as water purification agents,” Dr Serov told The Courier.
The private consultant, who previously worked for the NSW Office of Water for 15 years, said he made the discovery while doing testing on a local property.
“I was asked to examine a property owner’s bore for water quality because he had water quality issues and wanted to find what had potentially happened,” he said.
“I took a sample back to the labs and found it under a small microscope.
“I was surprised by what I found, given my years of experience with groundwater dependent ecosystems, the geology normally wouldn’t allow a habitat of this type to exist.”
The Courier asked Dr Serov for the name of the property owner who contracted his services, but he would not disclose the name for “confidentiality”.
Dr Serov said the discovery prompted him to lodge a submission to the federal government to urge closer examination.
He claims the tiny creatures provide a vital function in purifying water, and any gas plans should ensure the creatures aren’t wiped out.
“My fear is without appropriate management and monitoring of the aquifer, in terms of both water quality and biological diversity, we could inadvertently lose them or reduce their biodiversity and their function in the ecosystem,” he said.
“It’s barely known in the community that they exist at all.”
Santos’ water team leader, Glenn Toogood, said he was surprised to learn of Dr Serov’s claims.
“There aren’t the conditions conducive for stygofauna to live and survive, they need oxygen, and there is not much, or very limited oxygen, in these formations,” Mr Toogood told The Courier.
“We have undertaken tests and haven’t found any evidence of stygofauna there.”
He said Santos investigates issues whenever they become apparent.
“We are always happy to look at new science if it becomes available, however given we haven’t seen a copy of Dr Serov’s submission we don’t have any ability to vet what he has said,” Mr Toogood said.
He said Santos doesn’t take water from aquifers, and if stygofauna do exist in them here then it could have implications for other industries here which extract water from the aquifers.
“We don’t take water out of aquifers, we just drill through them,” he said.
Santos will now wait for the assessment of all submissions.