A plan to transform a disused coal mine near Victoria's Great Ocean Road into a world-class ecotourism attraction has raised concerns among some in the Anglesea about the risk of an 'acid lake' nobody wants.
Friends of the Anglesea River's Keith Shipton and Dick O'Hanlon fear filling the Alcoa coal mine with groundwater will acidify the river and kill marine life. Alcoa has applied for a licence to use groundwater to fill its disused Anglesea coal mine pit and transform the site into an ecotourism attraction.
The Geelong smelter closed in 2014 and the Anglesea coal mine and power station subsequently shut down in 2015.It's left behind a giant hollow which Alcoa plans to rehabilitate by filling it with about 18 gigalitres of water – the equivalent of 7,200 Olympic swimming pools – over seven to 10 years. "Because the lake is 3.6 pH, it's a very acidic lake and at the moment, there's no plan to fix that," he said.The Eden Project proposes to transform the Anglesea coal mine into an ecotourism attraction.Alongside the acidity of the future pit lake, Mr Shipton said the community was also concerned about the effect of groundwater extraction on the pH of the Anglesea River.
Alcoa has consistently refuted suggestions its activities in the area have contributed to the acidification of the river.Alcoa has submitted a groundwater licence amendment application with Southern Rural Water, requesting approval to pump 1.5 gigalitres of groundwater per year for 10 years from the Upper Eastern View Formation aquifer, to fill the mine.
Southern Rural Water's managing director Cameron Fitzgerald said the organisation had appointed an independent panel of experts to assess the application, after which it would be released for public comment. "Investigations have indicated that the Anglesea River system is ephemeral and water quality is influenced by naturally occurring factors," an Alcoa spokesperson said.
"I do not think that the further production of the groundwater is beneficial to the environment or the local community," Professor Haese said. Alcoa stated the relevant authority managing the mine site would determine the future use of the water body.On the other side of Melbourne, the Latrobe Valley community is also familiar with the challenges posed by an old coal mine.
Friends of Latrobe Water secretary Tracey Anton says the Hazelwood mine rehabilitation plan is one giant experiment.But environmental groups fear there will not be enough water available in local waterways to fill the mine over the coming decades.
Alcoa Coal Mine Anglesea River Great Ocean Road Eden Project
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