Henley Beach residents demand immediate fix to groundwater being pumped from Baju apartments on to Henley Beach
DRAINED by a seven-year fight to stop thousands of litres of groundwater being pumped on to the beach every week, these residents have had enough — and are demanding an immediate fix.
West & Beaches
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HENLEY Beach residents already drained by their seven-year fight to stop thousands of litres of groundwater being pumped onto the beach every week say they are tired of waiting and want an immediate fix.
They have been lobbying to stop water from the basement of the Baju apartments on Seaview Rd being dumped on the beach at Henley, to the right of the carpark staircase in front of SeaSalt, since the complex was completed in 2011.
The basement of the four-storey complex sits below the water table and needs to be pumped every 28 minutes.
Over a month, the equivalent of an Olympic-sized swimming pool is removed.
The water is pumped away using the stormwater drain system, which runs under Seaview Rd and the Henley Beach carpark and dumped on the beach to the right of the carpark staircase in front of SeaSalt restaurant.
This is done with the knowledge of the Department for Environment and Water and Charles Sturt Council and was supposed to be a temporary fix for the problem.
The developer — Bayspring Pty Ltd — has been told to find a permanent solution. Seven years later, residents are still waiting.
The Department of Environment’s manager of water licensing, Mike Fuller, has said that it is close to finding a permanent fix for the “complex" problem and works would begin this winter.
“The department, City of Charles Sturt and developer are in the advanced stages (of) planning the installation of an engineering solution to return groundwater to the underground aquifer,” Mr Fuller told the Westside Weekly.
“The department is committed to resolving this matter and is working closely with relevant parties to achieve voluntary compliance.”
But Western Adelaide Coastal Residents’ Association president Paul Laris, who is leading the residents’ fight, said they were “concerned” as they had been told many times a solution was at hand and then they heard nothing about it.
“We’re worried it’s going to again be delayed,” Mr Laris said.
In 2014, a council report said the department had told Bayspring the water must be returned to the aquifer and had been in talks with the company to find the best way to comply.
Two years before that, Bayspring developer Richard Antunes said he was working with the department to find a solution.
Mr Laris said he believed the temporary fix — which had now been in place for seven years — was contrary to the terms of the Natural Resources Management Act 2004, which stipulates that water must not be taken from a prescribed area unless authorised by a water management authority.
He said over seven years, about 210,000 kilolitres of groundwater had been pumped on to the beach.
Peter Schultz, of Grange, said the water pumping was wasteful and, in the absence of authority being granted for the removal of the water, he felt the department should have considered taking action against the developer under the Act.
According to the Act, the maximum penalty if there had been a contravention would be calculated at $25 for every kilolitre of water taken or used — which would equate to up to $5.25 million over seven years.
Mr Schultz, a retired freshwater biologist, said rust-coloured stains on the beach caused by the groundwater were an eyesore but not a health concern.
Charles Sturt chief executive Paul Sutton said the council was aware of the thousands of litres of groundwater being pumped on to the beach.
“(Council) have been working with the lead agency, (the) Department of Environment and Water, to seek an appropriate resolution,” Mr Sutton said.
“We have also received inquiries from other members of the community and they have been provided with information or directed to the Department of Environment and Water.”
Mr Antunes has not responded to a request for comment.
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