The Newlyn Reservoir Action Group (NRAG) has presented submissions to the Environment and Conservation Minister, The Hon Sherryl Garbutt MP, and to the Planning Minister, The Hon John Thwaites MP, in its campaign to get an improvement in the quality of the local domestic water supply.

The submissions call for Central Highlands Water to return to the Newlyn Reservoir as the source for the district water supply and to install a water treatment plant at the reservoir. CHW switched to bore water in September 1999.

NRAG secretary, Leigh Miller, said “Salinity is one of the many problems facing the communities of Newlyn, Allendale, Broomfield, Kingston, Smeaton and Springmount supplied with groundwater from Forest Hill.

Groundwater drawn from Forest Hill has a high salt content in excess of 430mg/L Total Dissolved Solids and is very hard (230mg/L CaCO3).

Water from Newlyn Reservoir is presently the main source for the township of Clunes domestic water supply, but CHW wants to switch Clunes over to bore water also.

A Panel set up by the Planning Minister, The Hon John Thwaites MP, is sitting at Creswick (on April 26 & 27) to hear objections to the Central Highlands Water applications for planning permits at Ascot/Tourello that would allow CHW to extract groundwater to provide the township of Clunes with bore water as an alternative domestic water supply

Mrs Miller said “Central Highlands Water should upgrade the Newlyn Reservoir by installing a water treatment plant at the reservoir then use this surface water for reticulated domestic water supplies to the region, including the towns of Allendale, Broomfield, Kingston, Newlyn, Smeaton, Springmount and Clunes”.

The region between Newlyn and Ascot/Tourello and the surrounding districts are major agricultural, potato growing and mixed farming areas that rely extensively on groundwater for irrigation purposes and several bore in the location of CHW Forest Hill bores have experienced problems since CHW started extracting groundwater from its bores.

“Groundwater in this region should be used mainly for agricultural use”, said Mrs Miller.