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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-05-12 Daily Xml
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MURRAY RIVER, LOWER LAKES

The Hon. K.A. MAYWALD (Chaffey—Minister for the River Murray, Minister for Water Security) (14:13): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.A. MAYWALD: I wish to advise the house today of a serious event in the Goolwa Channel and Lower Lakes region. I am advised that parts of the Finniss River and Currency Creek catchments have become acidic, as predicted by the modelling last year. Recent rainfall has mobilised acid in a creek bed that feeds into the Finniss River catchment and it is considered that the water in that area is currently unsuitable for livestock consumption and human contact. Last year, the state government predicted that the Finniss River and Currency Creek would acidify at a water level of approximately minus 0.75m AHD. I am advised that water levels in the Goolwa Channel are now well below this point and the tributaries have disconnected and a large amount of acidic material has built up. Recent rainfall has mobilised this acid in a section of the Finniss River catchment near Wally's Landing. There are also pools of acidic water in parts of Currency Creek wetlands, but it is not flowing.

Health SA advises that the water could cause irritation, particularly to sensitive tissue such as the eyes, and contact with water in the downstream sections of the Finniss River and Currency Creek should be avoided. Landholders are advised to provide alternative water supplies for stock and to restrict livestock access to the acidic water as a precaution. The Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation will today be directly contacting all landholders in the area whose stock and domestic water supply could be affected by this mobilised acid.

The situation is being monitored extremely closely. I am advised that there are no impacts on the Goolwa Channel at this stage. In anticipation of the acidic material being mobilised, more than 300 tonnes of micro-fine limestone has already been placed in Currency Creek and 80 tonnes in the Finniss River to neutralise the acid. The state government is currently investigating further options to address this situation, which includes the option most likely to implement additional limestone dosing as a matter of urgency.

The state government has proposed a series of environmental flow regulators across Goolwa channel at Clayton and in Finniss and Currency Creek tributaries to manage acidification issues in these tributaries. I am advised that the federal Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts has today provided environmental approvals for the implementation of the Goolwa Channel Water Level Management Project. Financial and cultural approvals for this project will be concluded in the very near future. People who draw water from the Finniss River or Currency Creek who require further information should contact the Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation.

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