Council might stop using groundwater

Gosford Council would "turn off" the $8.2 million groundwater system if the natural environment was detrimentally affected by groundwater extraction, a meeting of the Peninsula Residents' Association has been told.

Challenged on whether the council would really be willing to lose $8.2 million on the project, Council's manager of asset management Ms Pam McCann told the meeting that it was "a risk" that the council was taking.

The association was addressed by Ms McCann and Mr Lisle Butler from Gosford Council at its August meeting, as well as by Mr John Asquith from the Community Environment Network, about the region's water supply situation.

Questions asked at the meeting included some about the effect of groundwater extraction on dropping water table levels on bushland on the Peninsula and how this would be monitored.

Mark Snell, August 19