Barwon Water held its fifth meeting with the Boundary Creek and Big Swamp Remediation Working Group in late March, to continue discussions about developing a remediation plan.

Barwon Water General Manager Strategy, Systems and Environment Kate Sullivan said the latest meeting of the community remediation working group provided an opportunity to discuss and ask questions about Barwon Water’s recent withdrawal of its licence application and any implications this had for the remediation process underway.

This meeting followed four previous meetings with the working group whose role is to participate in the design of the remediation plan and provide greater awareness of the remediation plan across the community.

The group have nominated three independent experts whose role is to represent the interests of the environment and members of the working group to provide expertise and scientific rigour to the development of the remediation plan.

“The independent experts have critically reviewed and provided feedback on the environmental and scientific field program and assessments. Their review has taken into account existing literature and concerns raised by members of the group. Barwon Water has used this information to refine and strengthen the upcoming field program and assessments,” Ms Sullivan said.

“The purpose of this field program and environmental assessments is to resolve information gaps raised as concerns by the working group to better understand aspects of Big Swamp and Boundary Creek, and use the outcomes of that work to inform a remediation approach for that specific catchment,” she said.

“One of the key topics discussed at meeting five, was the process for developing the remediation plan, which includes prioritising remediation for Boundary Creek and Big Swamp where we know we have had an impact as well as investigating whether there have been impacts in other areas. We will work with key stakeholders to ensure this happens.

“An extensive environmental and scientific field program is due to commence in late April.

“We will provide monthly updates to the remediation working group and meet with the group again in the coming months to provide an update on the field program and what the preliminary results are telling us.”

Barwon Water intends to submit its remediation plan to Southern Rural Water for review at the end of 2019.