Groundwater use to be banned from 3 February 2022

The EPA wrote to residents in Edinburgh and surrounding suburbs on 20 January 2022 advising that it will be proceeding with the establishment of a groundwater prohibition area.

Environmental assessments undertaken by the Commonwealth Department of Defence have determined that groundwater in aquifers 0-60 m below ground level in portions of Edinburgh, Direk, Burton, Salisbury North, Penfield, Paralowie and Waterloo Corner has been contaminated by per- and poly-fluroalkyl substances (PFAS).

These chemicals are a potential health risk if people are accessing it over a long period of time. After completing an assessment of all the information the EPA held in this area, a groundwater prohibition area was established in the area shown in this map.

Notification is scheduled to be published in the South Australian Government Gazette on 3 February 2022, making this the eighth groundwater prohibition area established in South Australia to date.

Groundwater from aquifers up to 60 m below ground (depending on the location) will be banned under section 103S of the Environment Protection Act 1993.