ENGIE will not rule out a permanent closure of the Hazelwood Pondage after bans were put in place last week to stop all on-water activities due to safety concerns over the dam wall.
Hazelwood mine rehabilitation project director Garry Wilkinson said the company would make a decision over the pondage following a full geotechnical assessment of the integrity of the dam wall.
He said detailed studies of another six sections were needed and these should be available in about three months.
“Until we have the full picture it’s difficult to elaborate what we will do in the long-term period,” Mr Wilkinson said.
“When we have the full range of data we will go to the community with confidence whether we will maintain it, or shut it down indefinitely. This is not a decision we will make lightly.”
ENGIE will begin lowering the water levels by about one metre to alleviate pressure on the dam walls, and release water into Eel Hole Creek.
Mr Wilkinson said they may have to let even more water out depending on the study results. He could not predict if the water levels would be topped-up again.
ENGIE temporarily closed the pondage after engineering consultants found integrity issues with the 50-year-old dam wall which could fail in an earthquake of a magnitude of more than six.
Mr Wilkinson said one of the biggest risks was the potential for internal erosion of the dam wall after they detected wet zones in the embankment.
ENGIE is meeting with Latrobe City Council this week. It is also meeting with the Latrobe Valley Yacht Club after a major sailing regatta scheduled for this weekend was cancelled along with its winter sailing series
Some pondage users believe ENGIE’s decision is linked to its future mine rehabilitation plans to drain the pondage and fill the Hazelwood mine void to create a full pit lake.
Latrobe City Councillor Graeme Middlemiss was cynical about the process. He said the energy minister would make a decision on how the mine should be remediated in 2020.
“Yet disappointingly, ENGIE has already advised the pondage will be emptied into the mine in 2020,” Cr Middlemiss said,
“This appears to have pre-empted the decision by the minister which is still two years away. This latest report on the dam wall instability only muddies this situation further.”
Hazelwood Pondage Caravan Park site holder Kaylene Price described ENGIE’s decision as a “poor excuse to shut [the pondage] down”.
“I’m hoping this is not the nail in the coffin for the pondage. This will affect the Valley. I hope they are not using this as an excuse to shut down the caravan park and drain the pond,” Ms Price said.
Yinnar and District Development Committee spokesman Herb Smith said the immediate ban would affect tourist numbers which will have economic ramifications for the area.
Mr Smith said he would be pushing for the geotechnical findings to be made available to the public.
