Keswick, Forestville, Ashford, Everard Park, Wayville and Mile End South
The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) undertook environmental assessment in Keswick and surrounding areas between March 2017 and July 2018 to find out whether groundwater was impacted by contamination.
The results of groundwater investigations in the Keswick and surrounding areas assessment area confirmed the presence of chlorinated hydrocarbons, petroleum hydrocarbons, metals, and nitrates.
A groundwater prohibition area was established on 29 October 2020 and published in the Government Gazette.
Taking of groundwater is prohibited in the 1st Quaternary aquifer, defined as the Keswick Clay aquifer and the 1st Hindmarsh Clay aquifer, 0 to approximately 18 metres below the ground surface within the specified area.
The site contamination affecting the groundwater is in the form of chlorinated hydrocarbons, petroleum hydrocarbons, metals, and nitrates which represent actual or potential harm to human health or safety.
For more information about the GPA, please visit:
KESWICK AND SURROUNDING AREAS GPA - ENGAGE EPA
Background
Keswick and its surrounding suburbs have a proud manufacturing history, with former whitegoods and vehicle manufacturing, electroplating, concrete and asphalt batching, and newspaper printing all taking place in the area.
Some chemical disposal and handling practices in these industries, that were considered appropriate at the time, are no longer acceptable today. As a result, chemicals from historical industrial activities have contaminated the groundwater in this area.
The chemicals of concern are primarily petroleum and chlorinated hydrocarbons. This includes tetrachloroethene (PCE) and trichloroethene (TCE), which then degrade to form other chemicals.
PCE is a colourless liquid industrial chemical that is widely used for dry cleaning fabrics and for metal cleaning. It is also used to make other chemicals and is used in some household products, such as silicon lubricants, fabric finishers, spot removers, adhesives, and wood cleaners.
TCE is a colourless liquid industrial chemical that is used widely in industry for metal cleaning and in production of products such as adhesives, lacquers, dyes, perfumes, and soaps. In the past, TCE was also used in many other applications such as removing caffeine from coffee beans in the production of decaffeinated coffee, in dry cleaning, and as an anaesthetic for surgery.
