UPDATE ON
SPRINGBROOK WATER MINING

After nearly four years in the Planning and Environment Court a decision has finally been made with the order below regarding the application to extract more of Springbrook’s water for the bottled water industry. The decision from the judge reads; 

 

“The appeal be allowed in part.The Council's decision to refuse all of the Development Application is set aside and replaced with a decision that the Development Application be approved in part, for a maximum extraction of 8 megalitres of groundwater per annum, subject to the conditions and plans attached hereto, contained in pages 1 to 87, and marked "Annexure "A" and the DevelopmentApplication is otherwise refused”   

 

The conditions package is very extensive and includes 12 months of baseline studies and monitoring. Thank you to everyone who has supported us in this court case. Especially those who donated towards the costs and The Environment Defenders Organisation for legal support. It is not the outcome we wanted but with such tight conditions the environment has more chance than what it did if the full 16 megalitres with weak conditions was approved. We will continue to work with the State and Federal Governments to stop all water mining for the bottled water industry on Springbrook. Please encourage others to stop drinking the stuff!

 

The property involved is now on the market. We can only hope that who ever buys it will not take up the approval. The owner himself told the judge that the water mine was not viable with the conditions package that went with the approval. 

 

Let’s look what else has been achieved through this whole process. QUT extending their groundwater studies to Springbrook. The extra funding provided by the City of Gold Coast and Queensland Government has helped enormously in the understanding our aquifers. One simple truth from this is that the water being taken by the commercial water industry is the same water that should be flowing in the creeks and waterfalls. These study results can now be used by the Department of Water to help with formulating their new Gold Coast Water Plan. The State has now realised it has to put groundwater into the plan. Something they certainly weren’t thinking about before this application was submitted. We now have a moratorium on any new water mines on Springbrook. Hopefully this will also be carried over to the new water plan. The Traditional Owner connections with the mountain have been strengthened and the spiritual aspect of Springbrook’s water is now being told. The mountains Flora and Fauna has been studied in more detail. Many range extensions of species has happened and maybe even a new species of Spiny Crayfish found. The Fens,swamps and Springs of Springbrook are now recognised as very worthy of Federal Government protection. So let’s keep up the good works. Thank you to a very big team of dedicated people who have the Springbrook’s environment in their hearts.