Bungonia district graziers blame Multiquip quarry for water woes

But for owners of the 630-hectare holding, Phil and Diane Broadhead, it's only in part due to the drought.

Going back to the 1850s when Mr Broadhead's family purchased the property, he says they've had an ace up their sleeve during drought. That's the spring he says has continually flowed since then and was made into a permanent source for stock and domestic purposes in the 1920s. Miles of steel piping were laid, connecting the spring to a 6000 gallon tank and stock troughs.

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But now the couple maintain Multiquip Quarries Ardmore Park operation, 1.3km southwest, is sapping the spring's aquifer. The company has 10 bores, including a 124-metre deep production bore at its Oallen Ford Road sand and basalt quarry.

"They've destroyed the underground water," Mr Broadhead said.

"...It's been flowing for as long as we've been here and we've never had a problem. Before we started measuring it, (the spring) could pump a full 6000-litre tank but it has declined ever since they drilled the bores. It's down 81 per cent on what it was flowing at in 2003 when CEAL (Multiquip's company) drilled the bores and the rate of decline has increased."

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According to their measurements, the spring's flow was 30,000 litres a day 16 years ago but is now 5400l/day. In essence, the Broadheads argue Multiquip's mining of the sand aluvium, which is part of the underground aquifer supplying the spring, is upsetting the aquifer's balance.

Multiquip Quarries has rejected suggestions its bores are to blame. It has a licence to extract 110 megalitres of water and has secured an extra 100ML licence as part of its proposed expansion. That additional water is yet to be allocated.

The Broadheads are adamant climate conditions are not depleting the aquifer, as they say Multiquip claims.

"Back through history we've had far drier conditions. It has sustained us and has been an unbelievable water supply," Mrs Broadhead said.

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They argue it is all the more important due to the basalt geology on Inverary Park, which requires 100mm of rain for any decent runoff into dams. But now they've sold off 75pc of their cattle due to the depleted water source.

The quarry won State approval in 2009 to extract 400,000 tonnes of sand and hardrock from its quarry, 4km east of Bungonia. Part of the conditions were that if the quarry's operation resulted in lower water flow rates or availability, the company would supply a commensurate amount of the resource to affected users, monetary compensation or install a bore for the affected parties, providing the same or greater amount of water.

"They haven't done any of this," Mr Broadhead said.

The couple acknowledged they declined Mutiquip's offer in 2018 to truck in water for them as they didn't see it as a permanent solution. Likewise, they rejected the company's $10,000 offer towards a new bore because "it would have cost them a significant amount."

"Considering we were the ones being impacted, we couldn't see why they should not supply us with what they committed to," Mrs Broadhead said.

The couple told The Post they'd been arguing their case through meetings and numerous letters to Multiquip and the Department of Environment and Planning for years, but were getting nowhere.

Last year Multiquip applied to increase production to 580,000 tonnes/annum. The Broadheads fear this will further deplete the aquifer. In 2018, their complaints resulted in the Department's secretary commissioning an independent review of the flow rate decline in 'Phil's spring.'

The report, completed by Australasian Groundwater and Environmental Consultants for Multiquip in February, 2019, concluded that the reasons for the decline were unclear, but ruled out sand and basalt extraction as the cause.

"The area of active basalt is dry and exploration drilling indicated the basalt was dry...Of most importance is the fact that sand extraction commenced on Ardmore Park in early 2018, some 15 years after the decline in spring flow was first noted," the report stated.

The authors stated that spring flow had dropped despite a cessation of pumping at Mutiquip's production bore. The pumped volumes were based on "considered estimates of water usage" with metering only beginning in early 2018. That's the clincher for the Broadheads. They said Multiquip could not claim their operation wasn't to blame when they "hadn't monitored the bores or kept records."

"They have had to be forced into any form of tests that might prove otherwise, which to date remain inconclusive because they will not do all the tests," they said.

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The Australasian report concluded that "in the absence of any other large scale pumping in the area, the installation of (Multiquip's main) production bore should be considered as a potential contributing factor to the decline in groundwater flow at Phil's spring." It recommended monitoring bores in the sand aquifer and another at Ardmore Park's production bore.

The Department then requested Multiquip complete an addendum to the report due to the inconclusive data.

"It took months to do and when it came back it contained faulty data from a V-notch monitor they put on our spring. The addendum is based on conceptual plans and measurement of bores around the area," Mrs Broadhead said.

Mr Broadhead said the V-notch readings were skewed by algal build-up and debris and was "calibrated too low."

The Post sought comment from Multiquip but a response was not forthcoming by the time of going to press.

The couple has taken their concerns to Goulburn MP, Wendy Tuckerman.

"It's some of the best country in the district but has been rendered useless. It's devastating and we feel very much on our own and that no-one cares...If the quarry is going to be there for 30 years, they should prove that what they're doing is sustainable and won't impact anyone," Mrs Broadhead said.

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