Perth Now | By: John Flint | November 06, 2017:
Perth’s drinking water catchment has been polluted by waste stockpiles — right under the nose of the State’s environmental watchdog, which was “closely monitoring” activities at the Oakford site, 36km south of the city.
In a highly embarrassing development for the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, groundwater tests have confirmed elevated concentrations of nitrates, heavy metals and even perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
DWER has confirmed the tested area “is partially located within the southern portion of the Jandakot Underground Water Pollution Control Area.”
It insists there’s no risk to public drinking water because the closest Water Corporation bore is more than 5.5 kilometres north of the impacted site and groundwater flow is in another direction.
The episode is the latest bizarre twist in the long running Bio-Organics saga. The regulator has already been castigated for its failure to properly monitor the business in the past.
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