Shifting people into the regions might seem a logical way to ease congestion in the major cities, but what infrastructure exists to support growing populations in places such as the Hunter?
Roads, telecommunications, energy, healthcare and education are the obvious items to require upgrades. But water is the mainstay that underpins all activity.
As Hunter Water observed in its 2020 Water Conservation Report, the Hunter sub-region is fast-growing - an expected 120,000 increase in population by 2040 - and the current storage infrastructure is not sufficient.
"Total demand is expected to surpass reliable supply by 2036-37," the report says.
This doesn't mean the Hunter lacks water. Under typical conditions, there is plenty for agriculture, mining, households and industry, while still supporting flows in the Hunter River.
However, during prolonged periods of hot, dry weather, storage levels fall rapidly.
But what if we simultaneously dealt with another concern - the rehabilitation of mining sites - to create a water storage system that would effectively drought-proof the Hunter?
The Hunter Lakes Corporation is developing the Hunter Lakes Scheme that will use flooded mine voids to create an interconnected lake system between Muswellbrook and Broke. The lakes will hold more water than Warragamba Dam and be capable of providing water security to the Hunter, Central Coast and even the Liverpool Plains.
The water storage capability will underpin significant economic growth and jobs.
The scheme is based on German mine-remediation in Lusatia, Brandenburg, in which voids from open-cut coal mining were flooded after German reunification in the 1990s.
The areas around the lakes have been "greened" with parks, farms and cycling tracks and the lakes themselves have become recreational venues for swimming, canoeing and sailing.
While the German example is focused on the ecological and tourism-recreation benefits, the Hunter Lakes Scheme has the joint goals of water security and environmental sustainability. Tourism, agriculture and recreation would be logical progressions of the scheme, and we will also deploy power generation from floating solar, wind and pumped-hydro.
Hunter Lakes Corporation is developing the Hunter Lakes Scheme that will use flooded mine voids to create an interconnected lake system.
The Hunter Valley's coal mines directly employ about 14,000 people, and more than 70,000 Hunter residents rely indirectly on the coal industry to make a living.
They all deserve a future in this region and turning mine voids into lakes enables a sustainable end-of-life remediation option for mine owners while creating economy-supporting water storage.
The Upper Hunter is an important economic zone for NSW - the corridor between Muswellbrook and Broke, alone, supports 40 coal mines.
However, end-of-life mines require considerable capital for remediation.
Our plan to create a lakes system utilising the existing voids would require no more capital than current remediation methods, however under our scheme the region would also gain water assets and jobs.
In mines remediation there is the issue of contamination of soil and groundwater which the Germans have solved with ingenious engineering solutions that we are advancing and adapting in the Hunter. The German lakes were sealed before being filled, the groundwater is filtered before entering the lakes, and the lake water is monitored. Those lakes now provide drinking water to Berlin.
The Hunter's river systems already have multiple water allocations, and a water salinity problem that we are addressing. However, the bigger problem is mining voids that are not acted upon - if left alone they can develop into environmental disasters.
What is beyond dispute is that the Hunter region will continue to grow and will need a secure water supply in order to enable population growth and support infrastructure and jobs. At the same time, the Hunter needs an ongoing resolution to the end-of-life phase of coal mines.
We are conducting a Proof of Concept study with the University of Newcastle, investigating salinity, water allocation, river flows and evaporation, and the efficacy of the German example under local conditions.
We are committed to ensuring that current and future generations in the Hunter can enjoy a sustainable environment, economic vitality and jobs.
The Hunter Lakes Scheme will resolve water security, rehabilitate the coal mines and prepare this great region for the growth that is coming.
