Surf Coast Shire weighs in as Alcoa asks for another decade of pumping groundwater into old Anglesea mine
High levels of acidity have killed fish and seen swimmers barred from the Anglesea River. Locals say it’s time to stop the practice they believe is responsible but Alcoa wants to keep it going for another decade.
Geelong
Don't miss out on the headlines from Geelong. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Anglesea residents are stepping up their fight against Alcoa’s bid to continue pumping groundwater into its old mine, with locals claiming the practice has caused high levels of acidity in the town’s river for years, sometimes killing fish.
The Surf Coast Shire has also weighed in, saying any decision must protect the river’s long-term health.
The Dump the Pump campaign, organised by Friends of the Anglesea River (FOAR), is hoping to stop groundwater extraction, with a recent petition supporting the fight attracting more than 1600 signatures.
The campaign follows Alcoa’s application to Southern Rural Water (SRW) to pump about 600 Olympic size swimming pools of groundwater each year for a further 10 years, in order to fill its old coal mine, which shut in 2015.
FOAR founding member Richard O’Hanlon said the river was still slowly recovering from 46 years of mining and groundwater pumping, and ten more years would destroy all progress.
“FOAR has no problem with filling the mine pit if the method chosen does not delay recovery of the estuary,” he said.
He said the mine pit level was already increasing naturally.
Mr O’Hanlon said the first fish deaths due to highly acidic water were noticed by local residents in 2000. He said there’d been another large deadly episode in 2010 and seven or eight more since.
“Generally most interested parties accept that the chronic increased acidity in the estuary is predominantly caused by some combination of increased acidity and vastly reduced flows in Marshy and Salt Creeks,” he said.
From August 2019 to November 2021, the estuary was so highly acidic no fish were able to live in it, and no people could swim.
FOAR claims the acidity was the result of pumping, which caused the drying out of the previously wet upper eastern view (UEV) aquifer.
“If no further extraction is permitted, the UEV aquifer head could again support surface water flows in seven to 10 years,” Mr O’Hanlon said.
On Tuesday, Surf Coast Shire Council announced it would make a submission to SRW expressing concerns about Alcoa’s application to amend its existing groundwater extraction licence.
In its submission, council said would reaffirm it did not support extraction unless it was proved not to have a detrimental impact on the Anglesea River or its catchment.
Mayor Mike Bodsworth said council had listened to the community’s concerns about the condition of the Anglesea River and the risk of ongoing extraction of groundwater on river health.
“Local people and visitors love the Anglesea River and value the environmental, social and economic benefits it provides,” he said.
“We want to make sure that decisions made now do not jeopardise the long-term health of the river.”
A SRW spokesman said it was currently reviewing submissions made during public consultation on Alcoa’s groundwater licence amendment application.
“We aim to have an outcome on Alcoa’s application later this year.”
In a statement, Alcoa said it had undertaken extensive work to ensure the proposed groundwater extraction had no adverse environmental impacts on the river, which was “part of a complex system and is influenced by a variety of naturally occurring factors”.
It said the application was supported by more than four years of expert investigation.
Alcoa said it encouraged feedback via the SRW public comment period and it welcomed the rigour involved in the regulatory processes. It said it also recognised the high level of community and stakeholder interest.
More Coverage
Originally published as Surf Coast Shire weighs in as Alcoa asks for another decade of pumping groundwater into old Anglesea mine
Anatomy of a shooting: The gun, the texts, the crime, the video
One man shot in the neck, another on the run until a police dog brings him undone. From how the weapon was bought, to the tense moments the trigger was pulled and the gunman’s attempts to evade the law, we take a deep dive on how a brutal Geelong crime unfolded. READ THE TEXTS, SEE THE FOOTAGE
Nostalgic glimpse into history of Geelong’s Eastern Beach
Countless memories have been made by generations of families at Geelong’s Eastern Beach. Take a walk down memory lane with photos from the city’s renowned landmark throughout the decades.