A court battle has begun over whether a company can extract water for bottling near a World Heritage-listed national park on the Gold Coast.
Key points:
- The company's application was refused by the Gold Coast City Council in 2019
- Hoffman Drilling has filed an appeal with the Queensland Planning and Environment Court
- The Australian Rainforest Conservation Society has joined the case in defence of the council's decision
In 2019, Hoffman Drilling applied to extract 16 million litres of water a year from a site on Repeater Station Road near Springbrook National Park.
Gold Coast City Council rejected the application.
The company filed its appeal with the Queensland Planning and Environment Court and its case will be heard in Brisbane from today.
The drilling company said in its notice of appeal that the area was "rich in available groundwater".
"Recorded rainfall near the land was greater than 3,000 millimetres per year," the notice read.
"And groundwater recharge from such rainfall would allow the proposed development to operate with an insignificant impact on the groundwater system."
The company also said the proposed development would be between two existing bore sites.
But environmental groups and concerned residents are fighting the application.
The Australian Rainforest Conservation Society (ARCS) has joined the case in defence of the council's decision, saying extraction of water could jeopardise the values of the neighbouring World Heritage area.
The group, represented by the Environmental Defenders Office, is concerned the development would reduce the flow of water into nearby streams, at popular tourist attractions such as Twin Falls and Natural Bridge.
It also said the critically endangered smooth scrub turpentine shrub, the endangered ravine orchid and the near-threatened Albert's lyrebird were found within a kilometre of the proposed bore site.
"Given the world significance of these forests and their vulnerability to climate change, we believe mining of any volume of water is unacceptably risky," ARCS president Aila Keto said.
"The ecosystems of Springbrook National Park and its surrounds are priceless refuges for a whole host of plants and animals, many of which have ancient lineages and exist nowhere else on Earth.
"Australia and the world are in the midst of an extreme biodiversity crisis, which means we have a duty to protect all these refugia as best we can."
Ban on new groundwater extended
In March 2020, the Queensland government introduced a moratorium on new commercial groundwater bores drilled on Springbrook and Tamborine Mountain.
The government has repeatedly extended the moratorium to allow for more research into the impacts of water extraction on the ecosystem.
"Data-driven research, which is being gathered by QUT scientists, is required to make informed decisions to ensure we best manage these important groundwater resources," a government spokesperson said.
Exemptions to the moratorium include bores for stock and domestic uses.
In 2020 a Gold Coast City Council report noted that groundwater was "the least understood component" of the city's water supply.
It found that a lack of regulation presented a "risk to the sustainable management of water resources and associated natural systems at Springbrook and downstream".
This was despite groundwater being extracted in the region for commercial bottling since the mid-1990s.