Highbury Quarry toxicity truth revealed after urban legend emerges

An election pledge to turn a disused quarry into a 350ha adventure destination has locals asking “isn’t the water toxic?”. So, is Crystal Lake safe for swimming?

Locals have been left confused by an election pledge from the Liberal Government that would see a disused quarry in the north-eastern suburbs become a 350ha adventure tourism destination.

For years, an urban legend has ruminated that water at the picturesque location is toxic due to its mining past.

Last month the South Australian Government announced Crystal Lake Recreation Park at Highbury, which connects with the Torrens Linear Park trail, would be opened to the public if re-elected.

It comes after the government entered into commercial negotiations with the current owner of the site.

It has not operated as a quarry since 1982.

Crystal Lake Recreation Park could become a 350-hectare adventure tourism destination at Highbury in the north-eastern suburbs where a disused quarry currently sits behind fences. Picture: Supplied

Despite being private property, generations of risk-takers have trespassed and swum at the site.

Community member John Burns said he was under the impression it was unsafe.

“A few years ago when the Weir in the River Torrens failed, someone got the bright idea to use the water from the quarry’s lake to flush and refill the Torrens,” Mr Burns said.

“A friend who work for SA Water said the water was not safe to be used in the Torrens River because it was too alkaline and salty.

“That quarry is a wasteland.

“To this day, nothing grows in that water – not weeds, not creatures – and the surrounding benches are very unstable.

“There have been and will be landslides.”

Another community member, Anne-Marie Egges, took to social media following the announcement to question the safety of the area.

“How much will it cost to decontaminate the water from the mining operations, even before the cost of planning, design and development? Blue water in quarries doesn't mean it’s safe,” Ms Egges said.

Crystal Lake Recreation Park could become a 350-hectare adventure tourism destination. Picture: Supplied

The Minister for Environment and Water, David Speirs, was quick to dispel the myth. 

“Recent water testing results show no obvious barrier that would prevent water-based activities,” Mr Speirs said.

“Regarding references to the 2009 testing, there’s a difference between assessing the risk to ecology of a particular environment and human health advice.

“For example, flushing the Torrens with seawater would be disastrous for the ecology of the river, but water activities are possible at the beach.”

Mr Speirs said he expected the success of opening up South Australia’s reservoirs to be proof of the government’s success in introducing new bodies of water.

“Our political opponents were out there fear mongering when we opened up reservoirs for recreational access and that’s been proven wrong and I expect this will be exactly the same,” Mr Speirs said.

Adelaide’s north-eastern suburbs will be a key battleground at the state election, with Labor concentrating campaigning efforts on the nearby seats of Newland and King.