The restoration of a polluted river on Tasmania’s west coast has won three awards at the Tasmanian Awards for Environmental Excellence. The project, a partnership between West Coast Council, the Pasminco Rosebery Mine and the local Rosebery community, won the prestigious Environment Minister’s Award for the most outstanding submission.
It also won the Local Government category and the Mining and Minerals Processing category; and has been nominated as a finalist for the national Banksia Awards.
The project involved cleaning up the Stitt River through the conversion of two disused mine tailings dams into biological filters. The river had become severely degraded by town sewage but the cost of building a new sewage treatment plant was prohibitive.
The solution, which West Coast Council and Pasminco arrived at in 2001, was to convert the old tailings dams into wetlands. These natural filtering systems treat effluent before it is discharged into the river via the mine’s waste management system. The water entering the river system is now meeting accepted guidelines.
According to Pasminco Rosebery Mine General Manager, Brett Fletcher, the Stitt River improved ‘almost overnight’.
“Previously, water quality was extremely poor and there was very little aquatic life,” he said. “But with a simple idea and people working together, we’ve dramatically improved the situation. Major nutrients in the water have fallen by around 99 per cent, which makes a big difference to the health of this important local waterway.”
The project involved the installation of four pump stations, the modification of the tailings dams and planting of wetlands species. Council provided $567,600, Pasminco contributed $180,000 and the Federal Government’s Natural Heritage Trust Fund contributed $182,000.
West Coast Mayor, Darryl Gerrity, said the project provided a win-win solution both for the mine and the community.
“It is pleasing that this project has received the recognition it deserves,” he said. “Council is actively looking for other projects within the region where there may be environmentalbenefits by working with private enterprise and with other tiers of Government.”
