High levels of pollutants are emerging from the Wallerawang coal-fired power station near Lithgow, threatening the already strained ecosystem of the Coxs River.

Despite the high levels of arsenic, copper, salt and heavy metals in the water, the operators of the plant, Delta Energy, say that they’ve always operated within their environmental license, which is issued by the state government.

Volunteers from the Blue Mountains Conservation Society say that they’ve been using water testing kits for years in the area, and have been passing on their disturbing findings to the NSW department of environment and climate change, but with little effect.

Aquatic Ecologist Dr Ian Wright has been wading around the waterways of the Warragamba catchments for decades, and he is pressing ahead with new research into the health of the Coxs River ecosystem.

The findings of Dr Wright are now being used by the Blue Mountains Conservation Society as the basis for court action against the operators of the plant in the NSW Land and Environment Court.

2SER's Tim Roxburgh asked him what his recent research was showing about the health of the river.