Thursday, 6 February 2020

Members statements

Kyneton water reclamation plant

Ms RYAN (Euroa) (09:37): In November last year I tabled a petition on behalf of Kyneton residents who are deeply concerned by the Andrews government’s release of class C water into local rivers and streams and also Lake Eppalock. Coliban Water have been releasing treated industrial waste water—class C water—from the Kyneton Water Reclamation Plant into the Campaspe River via Snipes Creek without Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) approval and outside of licence specifications. Locals are demanding that the government upgrade the Kyneton Water Reclamation Plant to stop these discharges of class C water, which they believe is polluting waterways, threatening the ecology of streams and making water unusable for farmers, fishers, graziers and recreational users of those waterways.

Fourteen-hundred and forty people signed this petition in the hope that the Andrews government and Coliban Water will act. Local farmers like Huntly Barton, who has lived in the area for 50 years, have seen a really significant increase in stock illness and also losses in the past few years with the increased pollution of waterways. Coliban has made a number of these releases of class C water outside of their licence conditions, but the EPA has failed to take any action.

Coliban have now applied to the EPA, as I understand it, to increase the waste-to-river flow ratio. I have questioned both the Minister for Water and the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change about these releases. Both have been silent. Locals came to me because they cannot get advocacy from their local member.