EDDIE Ljubljanac spent $10,000 installing a bore at his Flinders Park home to save on water bills and help the environment.

Now he faces an $8000 fine for using it, after the Environmental Protection Authority last week issued a ban on using groundwater in parts of Flinders Park and Allenby Gardens because of chemical contamination.



"We have water shortages, it is much better for the environment, and water costs keep rising, so it seemed like the sensible thing to do," Mr Ljubljanac, who installed the bore in 1991, said.



"To come and tell us we can not use it after spending so much money is unfair."



The EPA ban affects properties bounded by Hallet Boulevard, Grange Rd, Frobisher Ave, Hartley Rd, Beatty St and the River Torrens.



Mr Ljubljanac, 65, said he had felt no ill-effects from watering his garden with groundwater.



He said it was "quite possible" he would break the ban unless the State Government compensated bore owners for the extra cost of using mains water. EPA spokeswoman Roslyn Agate said bore owners would not be compensated.



"They are using water that is not theirs," Mrs Agate said. "It does not belong to them and they have been advised it is bad for their health.



"One would think that if they were told something was potentially harmful for their health they would not want to use it."



The EPA believes the contamination was caused when cancer-causing chemicals stored in underground pugholes in the area, leaked into the groundwater.



In a letter to residents, the authority said there were more than 30 registered bores in the affected area.



The groundwater prohibition zone will come into effect from May 23, to allow residents who use the bores to find other water sources.



Flinders Park Primary School and council centres will not be affected by the ban as they use their water from deeper aquifers.



Charles Sturt Mayor Kirsten Alexander said she sympathised with Mr Ljubljana's situation, but the safety of residents came first.



GROUNDWATER BAN COULD LAST DECADES



A BAN on using groundwater from parts of Flinders Park and Allenby Gardens could be in place for decades, the Environment Protection Authority says.



Traces of four potentially dangerous chemicals - tetrachloroethene (also known as perchloroethylene or PCE), trichloroethene (TCE), dichloroethene and vinyl chloride - have been found during tests in the area's groundwater.



A spokeswoman for the authority said the only way to cleanse the area was to stop groundwater being brought to the surface for many years - possibly decades - to allow the chemicals to dissipate.



The SA Health website states that TCE and PCE are suspected to cause cancer, while vinyl chloride is a known carcinogen and can cause a rare type of liver cancer.



Short-term exposure to vinyl chloride can cause dizziness and drowsiness.



The Authority says exposure can occur if contaminated groundwater is extracted and consumed or used in cooking, in showers, swimming pools or for watering gardens.

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Originally published as Borewater fines a blow for residents