Use mines for water storage

Further to my letter discussing rain creation (November 1), it has occurred to me that within Australia we have an untapped resource for water storage.

Too often we see the cycle of drought broken by massive floods.

These floodwaters eventually, but relatively rapidly, return to the ocean virtually unused and unproductive.

For 200 years, the land has been mined.

Some of this mining has been above ground and some has been below.

The underground mines often contain galleries and shafts that will hold a large volume of water.

Underground storage in Australia has the significant benefit of preventing evaporation.

Despite the cost of removing pollutants, I believe that the cost of recycling water from disused mines would be far less than creating countrywide networks of pipes or building new above-ground reservoirs.

The environmentalists and conservationists can probably identify a slather of other advantages.

Richard Newby, Woy Woy