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| Ring Tank bursts near Miles. Courtesy of John Reid-Carew. |
Since Joe Hill’s neighbour began irrigating with CSG water, treated in
a reverse osmosis (RO) plant, he worried that this RO water might flow onto his
property and into his dams. A flood in March proved he was right to worry. Then
it happened again in May when the ring tank, in which the water was stored,
burst its banks.
Ring tanks are huge above ground dams, built to store irrigation water.
After irrigating a crop, the excess water runs off into tailwater drains, and
it is supposed to be pumped back into the ring tank. During heavy rain in March,
the water flowed over Joe’s neighbour’s tailwater drain and into Joe’s
property. The area’s average rainfall is 570mm but sometimes 250mm can fall
within 24 hours, causing severe flooding.
‘My neighbours have permission to use RO water but they’ve no approvals
for the earthworks,’ said Joe. ‘EHP and Queensland Government National
Resources & Mines have confirmed in writing that they do not regulate or
approve irrigation development such as ring tanks or tailwater drains, even
though RO water is not supposed to be directly or indirectly released into any
waters. A friend tested the water from the ring tank and it was six times
saltier than our creek water.’
Joe wants to know how much water the ring tank holds, the area of the
ring tank and was it full at the time it burst but to date no one has been
prepared to tell him. He has been told that his neighbour is responsible for
the earthworks and that they have complied with their ‘beneficial water’ use
approval. Origin Energy takes no responsibility for water after it leaves their
pipes.
‘This shows up all the deficiencies in the planning system,’ said Joe.
‘There’s no risk assessment. Many ring tanks have blown out in this area
because the self-cracking clay soil found here is not suitable for building
them.’
Six weeks after the first incident, the Director General of EHP visited
Joe to reassure him that the RO water’s test results were OK, but he did not
shown them to Joe. Two days later Joe’s neighbour’s ring tank burst its bank. The
water flowed for three days into one of Joe’s dams and over five of his
paddocks, filling up the melon holes. Neither his neighbour nor Origin Energy
notified the EHP but Joe did.
‘The government and mining companies believe that RO water is not a
problem,’ said Joe, ‘but for me it is the unknown and it is meant to be
contained on a property. I’m not finished with them yet.’
Since the incident Joe has met with a representative from Origin who
believed that their responsibilities ended when the water was piped onto
someone else’s property. Joe disagreed, saying that it is a joint venture, just
as he is responsible for his cattle’s meat even though they have been sold and
slaughtered elsewhere.
‘When I was in Gunnedah the National Party fellows believed it would be
different in NSW as the gas companies have to pass conditions to get a licence
and they are monitored by the government’s Environmental Protection Authority
and Trade & Investment, Resources & Energy. In Queensland we’ve got a GasFields
Commission, Department of Environment & Heritage Protection, Department of
Natural Resources & Mines, CSG Compliance Unit all employed by the government
too, and none of them will put their job on the line for any landholder. They
have to do what the government tells them and the government tells them they
want gas at all costs.’
Alan Jones interviewed Joe on May 14, 2015 http://www.2gb.com/audioplayer/105606
Watch John Reid-Carew’s video of Joe at the Senate Enquiry https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YwsnVCyuI8
and search for more of John’s videos
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