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Barwon Water welcomes new limits on Gerangamete groundwater
02 Jul 2019
Barwon Water welcomes the Water Minister’s decision to reduce the permissible consumptive volume (PCV) for the Gerangamete groundwater management area, which is consistent with the organisation’s commitment to not operate the Barwon Downs borefield while it focuses on remediating Boundary Creek and Big Swamp.
Minister for Water, the Hon Lisa Neville MP, today reduced the limit on how much water can be taken from the Gerangamete Groundwater Management Area (GMA) from 20,000 megalitres per year to 239 megalitres per year.
The PCV is the maximum amount of water that can be allocated to licence holders over a specific period of time.
Barwon Water managing director Tracey Slatter said the new PCV protects the aquifer from usage while remediation is being completed.
In March this year, Barwon Water withdrew its licence application for the Barwon Downs borefield to focus wholly on the remediation of the past impacts of water pumping,” Ms Slatter said.
“The PCV level set means no other party will apply to use the resource. This provides excellent protection while we focus on remediation.”
“The process for developing and implementing a remediation plan has been progressing well as we continue to partner with independent technical experts and the remediation working group made up of community members and representatives from local agencies and environmental groups.
“In April this year, Barwon Water undertook an extensive field program, which involved taking soil samples from the site to assist in selecting the best method for remediation.
“Those samples are currently being tested by bio-geochemical experts at Monash University, with the results expected to be known in September 2019.”
The remediation plan will be submitted to Southern Rural Water and its independent technical review panel by 20 December 2019.
A review of the PCV is expected to occur when remediation is complete.