Groundwater bore testing in South West Rocks

Kempsey Shire Council

EPA Testing Area SWR Tuesday 13 2022

On Tuesday 13 December officials from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Kempsey Shire Council will be carrying out groundwater bore testing at homes in South West Rocks.

Staff will be knocking on doors of the properties immediately to the west of the former Shell and Caltex terminals on Phillip Drive where testing has revealed PFAS in soil samples.

The EPA carried out sampling of the creek system and lagoon in August and results demonstrated that there was no risk to recreational users. The concentration of PFAS found were all within the drinking water guidelines.

Testing has also been done on bore water samples of properties to the north of the former terminal sites.

The testing on Tuesday will focus on properties between 1-43 Phillip Drive, the three cul de saces running north of there, and properties on Wongarl Avenue as well as Emanuel, Currawong and Goolagong Crescents.

An adult must be home to provide consent for the experts to enter and take samples.

There are 18 registered groundwater bores in this area. Any properties with unregistered groundwater bores will be able to be tested without any need for registration or reprisals.

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