Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) has granted Hazelwood Power Partners approval to discharge additional water from Hazelwood Pondage, to lower the water level and reduce pressure on the dam wall and reduce the risk of an uncontrolled discharge.
The approval, under Section 30A of the Environment Protection Act 1970, allows the company to exceed the permitted 75 megalitres per day and release up to 300 megalitres a day if necessary for a maximum of 60 days. 300 megalitres is well within the capacity of the spillway.
The water would be discharged to the Latrobe River in the usual manner through Eel Hole Creek and Morwell River, and there would be no change in the existing water quality requirements.
The additional water being released from Hazelwood Pondage will have a negligible impact on the Latrobe River and Eel Hole Creek.
The additional flow will result in an increase in salt concentration, but not to a level that will have any ecological implications. PFAS concentration in the Pondage is already low, well under the 95% level of protection ecosystem standard. Other aspects of water quality, such as turbidity and pH, will be of negligible impact on the river.