Why is bore water being prohibited?

Portions of Woodville North, Pennington and Athol Park have historically been areas where significant industrial and manufacturing activities were undertaken.

These activities have included the manufacturing of ammunitions, whitegoods and vehicles.

Groundwater (bore water) in the upper 3 aquifers (0–20 m below ground level) is known to be contaminated.

If contaminated groundwater is a risk to human health, the EPA has the ability under the Environment Protection Act 1993 to establish a Groundwater Prohibition Area (GPA). Once a GPA is established both current and future landholders will not be able to access the groundwater.

Health problems can occur if people come into contact with the contaminated water over a long period of time. The contamination presents a potential risk to human health if groundwater is utilised for drinking, showering, washing, filling swimming pools, watering lawns or irrigating edible produce.

Preventing the extraction of contaminated groundwater is necessary to protect human health and prevent the spread of contamination. The purpose is to protect both current and future landholders from accessing the contaminated groundwater.