Bore halt call as triggers hit

ERIN PEARSON
A LAND Care group has called on Barwon Water to stop tapping an Anglesea borefield.
Land and Water Resources in the Otway Catchment’s vice-president Malcolm Gardiner said the long-term sustainability of the groundwater source was unknown.
He warned that over-extraction could threaten the livelihood of Surf Coast communities.
“When you put the fact Alcoa is extracting water out there you’ve got a double whammy.
“When the peat dries out it oxidises and produces acid, which goes though the soil and releases heavy metals.It kills animals and fish stone dead.
“In our area we’re even seeing the water eat away at cement pylons over creeks.
“Barwon Water extracting the water they are now could be the last straw for your area.”
In October last year the Victorian Auditor General said Department of Sustainability and Environment and water corporations could not be sure whether harvesting groundwater was sustainable.
The report said data gaps and uncertainty about groundwater quality meant the department and water corporations could not effectively monitor, plan or manage Victoria’s groundwater resources.
Barwon Water was granted bulk entitlement in June, 2009, to extract an average seven gigalitres a year from the Anglesea borefield.
The authority said the project was fast-tracked to boost Geelong’s supplies during the drought.
The borefield, with six of seven planned bores constructed, was now operating at a reduced rate because “triggers were approached more quickly than expected”.
Barwon Water managing director Michael Malouf said waterways in the borefield area were unaffected.
Barwon Water would conduct further testing at Anglesea to determine the long-term sustainability of its groundwater use, he said.
“It will not only tell us the sustainable level of extraction but it will assist in protecting the area’s environmental values and the health of groundwater dependent ecosystems.
Water Minister Peter Walsh has given the corporation until August, 2013, to assess the aquifer’s “sustainable yield”.