Coliban Water’s bid to amend its licence for the Kyneton Water Reclamation Plant is temporarily on hold, after Environment Protection Authority Victoria called for more information.
The licence regulates releases of wastewater from the plant to the Campaspe River and has allowed a maximum ratio of 20 per cent treated water to 80 per cent river flow (1:5).
But the dilution ratio has been measured at Redesdale, 40 kilometres downstream from the release point at Kyneton, where increased flows greatly dilute the wastewater.
Now, after spending $17M on improvements to the plant including more storage lagoons and a pipeline for sending recycled water to landowners for irrigation, the EPA notified Coliban Water it would have to measure dilution at Kyneton.
Coliban Water is expected to be seeking a reduction in the required dilution ratio and submitted its application on March 21, but EPA manager of permissioning, Stephen Adamthwaite, said there was not sufficient information.
“The licence assessment process is prescribed in law and requires a detailed assessment of the proposal, any potential effects on the community and environment, and the effectiveness of any safeguards built into it,” Mr Adamthwaite said.
“EPA won’t start the formal process until we have enough information to make a complete assessment.”
The potential project has drawn a lot of interest from the community and EPA is placing strong emphasis on informing and hearing from anyone who might be affected.
“The regulatory process does not specify public consultation on the detail of a licence amendment, but EPA sees feedback as important to ensuring that people understand how it might benefit the community and have a chance to raise any issues before a decision is made,” Mr Adamthwaite said.
Local landowners who have been adversely affected by illegal releases of wastewater to the river over the course of the past decade have welcomed the news.
“Coliban Water should guarantee via the licence that it will never again pollute the river with C Class water,” landowner Huntly Barton said.
“Now that they’ve spent millions on the lagoons and pipeline they should never be able to send polluted water into the river again.
“We’ll be looking forward to Mary-Anne Thomas MP coming on board with us, loud and clear, making sure that the river is no longer polluted.”
EPA will inform the community once the application has been accepted for assessment and is available for public feedback, and there will be more community engagement sessions, with the timing to be set once the application has been formally accepted.
