Water table won't drop, council claims

The water table on the Peninsula will not drop with ground water extraction, according to Gosford Council's manager of asset management Ms Pam McCann

She said that council had computer models of how it believed the water table would be affected, and had also done studies on the impacts of the treatment plant, such as land use, flora and fauna.

However, the council had not released them because it was not legally obliged to.

Ms McCann said that council only needed a development application for the building, not the bore field, which was licensed by the Department of Natural Resources.

"They will be giving council a 12-month testing license, and then they will consider what substantial yield council can take from the borefield," Ms McCann said.

Ms McCann said she believed that the bores would be able to supply 3.8 megalitres a day.

Ms McCann said that there were 20 bores on the Peninsula but that council would only be using the 14 that caused the least environmental impact.

Ms McCann said that they could tell from the modelling which areas of groundwater would be impacted the most, and would be contacting residents and environmental groups in those areas.

She stated that, from the modelling, the impact would be "very much located around the bores".

"There will not be an overall dropping of the water table," Ms McCann said.

Ms McCann said that there were risks, but that council would only be taking what it could on a sustainable basis.

She said that at other bores around the Gosford local area, such as Ourimbah, the bores were only collecting half their expected yield.

She also stated that council would be setting up displays in the Peninsula area, and would be out in the community to inform it of the water treatment plant proposal.

Ms McCann said that some of the water table computer modelling would be on display.

The council also issued a statement saying that the decision to advertise the development application for 14 days rather than 28 was "in accordance with Council's Development Control Plan 128 - Notification of Development Applications".

Lyle Stone, July 21