Port Adelaide Enfield Mayor Gary Johanson demands state government promise not to dredge Port River channel

OPPONENTS of a plan to dredge the Port River channel say the state government must pledge to drop the plan, saying it could spell doom for the Gulf St Vincent.

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OPPOSITION to a controversial proposal to dredge the Port River is mounting amid speculation that a decision will not be made until after the State Election.

Flinders Ports has applied to the State Planning Commission to widen the shipping channel at Outer Harbor by 40m for a distance of 7km to improve access for larger vessels.

It would require dredging 1.55 million cubic metres of sea matter to be relocated at Gulf St Vincent.

Port Adelaide Enfield Mayor Gary Johanson said the plan was the “worst form of environmental vandalism” because the dumped material would damage sea grass and threaten the health of marine animals.

He wanted an “iron-clad guarantee” from the State Government before the March election that the proposal would not go ahead in its current form.

“We’ve seen too many cases over the years of one thing being said before the election and another thing after,” Mr Johanson said.

He said the last time Flinders Ports dredged the river and moved the sea matter into the gulf in 2005 “it turned white”.

“How can we hold our head up and say we are an environmentally friendly state and we are getting rid of coal-powered electricity, and then (say) ‘Oh, let’s dig up the channel and dump it in the middle of our breeding stock of fish and prawns’?

“It is potentially going to destroy the gulf.”

He suggested the dredged material instead be used to build up land at Gilman.

The commission is scheduled to debate the proposal on Thursday, January 18.

A State Government spokeswoman said dredging would not proceed without a “rigorous independent” assessment by the Environment Protection Authority and community consultation.

“Gary Johanson and the Port Adelaide Enfield Council were invited to provide feedback but had no comment to make on the proposal,” the spokeswoman said.

“If Mr Johanson was serious about his alternative proposal, he should have raised it through this process.”

Flinders Port’s application argues the dredging will support South Australian trade and avoid vessels switching to other ports.

Jim Douglas from the Western Adelaide Coastal Residents Association backed Mr Johanson’s idea of dumping the spoil at Gillman.

“We have strong concerns arising from our recollections of the previous dredging in 2005 that caused severe turbidity from the Port River as far as West Beach,” Mr Douglas said.

Wildcatch Fisheries management consultant Neil MacDonald had “serious reservations” about the dredging.

“The Port River is a significant nursery ground for a number of important fish species, including King George whiting, garfish and prawns,” Mr MacDonald said.

“We can’t afford to compound the losses sustained last time (due to lost sea grass).”

Tony Bazeley from the Port Adelaide Resident’s Environment Protection Group said 2000 hectares of sea grass were lost as a result of dredging in 2005.