5.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

5.1 Water

Table 5 - Results of the Sampled Domestic Bores with recorded pH below 5.5

Site location	Depth (metres below ground level)	pH	Ec MS/m	As mg/L	Al mg/L	Cd mg/L	Cr mg/L	Pb mg/L	Ni mg/L	Fe mg/L	Cl:SO4 ratio
SLA # 1 Upgradient & northeast of Spoonbill Lakes	3.7	4	94.3	0.15	3.8	0.001	<0.02	0.014	0.02	31	0.23
	6.7	6.1	112	0.076	0.033	<0.0005	<0.02	<0.0005	<0.01	1.9	0.24
	9.7	5.9	106	0.078	0.048	<0.0005	<0.02	0.0006	<0.01	7.1	0.24
	12.7	6.2	58	0.004	0.13	<0.0005	<0.02	<0.0005	<0.01	11	0.82
SLA # 2 Downgradient and west of southern Spoonbill Lake	4.7	3.1	152	0.34	44	0.0018	0.07	0.18	0.04	54	0.14
	7.7	3.8	154	0.73	26	0.0036	0.03	0.027	0.07	63	0.13
SLA # 3 Downgradient and at south-western extremity of Spoonbill Lakes	3.6	3.2	181	0.056	48	<0.0005	0.21	0.014	0.08	48	0.29
	6.6	5.7	156	0.016	0.56	<0.0005	<0.02	0.0027	0.01	98	0.14
	9.6	6.5	110	0.003	0.48	0.0034	<0.02	0.001	0.02	12	0.42
	12.6	5.9	117	<0.001	0.036	<0.0005	<0.02	<0.0005	<0.01	18	0.28
SLA # 4 Downgradient and at south-western extremity of northern Spoonbill Lake	5.2	3.1	136	0.12	31	<0.0005	0.04	0.0097	0.02	56	0.12
	8.2	3.9	102	0.006	38	<0.0005	0.03	0.0057	0.01	25	0.14
	11.2	4.1	156	0.003	0.72	<0.0005	<0.02	0.002	<0.01	140	0.09
	14.2	4.4	132	0.004	0.069	<0.0005	<0.02	<0.0005	0.01	98	0.16
SLA # 5 Jones St - downgradient of Roselea development	3.6	2.6	504	7.3	230	0.0072	0.31	0.017	0.15	1200	0.02
	6.6	3.4	381	0.28	160	<0.0005	0.14	0.0025	0.13	1000	0.03
	9.6	3.8	429	0.017	200	<0.0005	0.1	0.0048	0.29	1200	0.02
	12.6	5.6	142	0.024	0.21	<0.0005	<0.02	<0.0005	<0.01	110	0.14
	15.6	4.4	147	0.025	2.8	<0.0005	<0.02	0.0071	0.05	180	0.12
SLA # 6 Telford Cres - downgradient of Stirling Lakes development	4.6	3	127	0.004	60	<0.0005	0.03	0.022	0.02	39	0.2
	7.6	4	69	0.017	1.3	<0.0005	<0.02	0.001	0.01	26	0.67
	10.6	5.4	121	0.009	0.043	<0.0005	<0.02	<0.0005	<0.01	17	1.21
	13.6	6.8	55	0.001	0.024	<0.0005	<0.02	<0.0005	<0.01	0.58	2.6
SLA # 7 Graham Burkett Reserve - upgradent of Roselea Gardens development	5.7	6.8	66	0.007	0.16	0.0005	<0.02	<0.0005	<0.01	0.21	1.85
	8.7	6.6	58	0.004	0.2	<0.0005	<0.02	<0.0005	<0.01	0.05	2.5
	11.7	6.5	53	0.003	0.54	<0.0005	<0.02	<0.0005	<0.01	0.1	2.1
SLA # 8 Downgradient of ornamental lake in Sandpiper Reserve	4.7	6	207	0.004	0.044	<0.0005	<0.02	<0.0005	0.01	56	0.38
	7.7	4.6	171	0.046	0.29	<0.0005	<0.02	<0.0005	0.01	51	0.16
	10.7	5.6	182	0.003	0.062	0.0012	<0.02	<0.0005	0.01	28	0.09
	13.7	6.2	153	0.001	0.94	<0.0005	<0.02	<0.0005	<0.01	4.5	0.17
SLA # 9 Downgradient of Stirling Lakes Development	3.2	3.4	115	0.74	0.94	0.0012	<0.02	0.0049	0.02	76	0.2
	6.2	5.9	136	0.016	0.066	<0.0005	<0.02	<0.0005	<0.01	100	0.1
	9.2	6.3	92.6	0.002	0.024	<0.0005	<0.02	<0.0005	<0.01	38	0.5
SLA # 11 Base of north-western toe of Stirling Lakes peat stockpile	3.2	5.9	294	0.14	0.03	<0.0005	<0.02	<0.0005	0.01	350	0.07
SLA # 12 Upgradient of Stirling Lakes development - corner Phillip Way / Hamilton St	4.7	6.6	39	0.006	0.14	0.62	<0.02	0.087	<0.01	0.07	1.2
	7.7	6.9	62.2	<0.001	0.046	0.012	<0.02	<0.0005	<0.01	0.14	2.7
	10.7	6.3	76.8	<0.001	0.038	0.0031	<0.02	<0.0005	<0.01	0.25	1.3
	13.7	6.2	62.8	<0.001	0.039	0.0023	<0.02	<0.0005	<0.01	0.09	1.3
SLA # 13 Southwestern corner of Stirling Lakes peat stockpile	2.5	5.6	89.4	0.14	0.16	0.0027	<0.02	<0.0005	<0.01	74	0.2
	5.5	6.2	72.1	0.051	0.89	<0.0005	<0.02	<0.0005	0.013	22	0.6

Note: As, Cd, Cr, Pb and Ni are shaded if they exceed the NHMRC 1996 Drinking Water Guidelines.

Al and Fe are shaded if they exceed the ANZECC 1992 Aquatic Freshwater Ecosystem Protection Guidelines.

pH is shaded if it is <5.5.

Table 6: Analytical Results from Groundwater Drilling Program 14-22 February 2002.

5.1.1 pH

3Fromm, P.O., 1980 - A review of some physiological and toxicological responses of freshwater fish to acid stress. 4 Fitzpatrick et al, 1996 - Acid sulfate soil assessment coastal , inland and minesite conditions

pH is commonly used as an indicator of acidity or alkalinity in water or soil. Most natural fresh waters have a pH close to 7.0 (neutral), and marine waters close to 8.2. In groundwater the pH is usually controlled by the presence of carbonate-bicarbonate buffer system. It is generally accepted that a pH range of 5-9 is not considered acutely lethal to most aquatic life, however pH less than 4.5 can be extremely toxic to plants and gilled organisms including harmful effects on eggs and fry of sensitive fish³. Although pH is generally used as an indicative measurement of soluble acidity in water for ASS, it does not account for the total soluble acidity in ASS because of the presence of soluble iron and aluminium species. However, the reaction between acid and soil constituents, mainly peat clay soils, releases aluminium, iron, manganese and other metals such as arsenic and copper⁴.

The pH screening test was conducted to determine the potential risk of acidic groundwater contamination in Stirling. More than 800 domestic bores and 13 shallow monitoring piezometer were installed at strategic locations to determine the extent of groundwater acidity. Figure 2 shows the extent of acidity which affected 49 domestic bores with pH less than 5.5. The impacted areas are primarily close to the development sites on Jones Street, Landrail Road, Sittela Street and the northern intersection of Telford Crescent and Karrinyup Road. An isolated groundwater acidic condition was detected close to Spoonbill lake system including the lake. Generally the pH varied between 2.6 and 4.5.

Table 6 shows the results of the shallow monitoring bores and metals analysis. Down gradient monitoring bores SLA#2 and SLA#3 show that the acidic groundwater conditions extend to 6.6m below ground level (BGL) with the exception of SLA#4 located on the south-western extremity of Spoonbill lake (north) showing the acidity extends deeper than 14m below the ground level. The upgradient bore located north-east of Spoonbill lake shows a similar pattern of acidity but limited to less than 4m below the ground level. The results indicate that the local groundwater in the immediate vicinity of the two lakes has been impacted by acidity.

Monitoring bore SLA#5 located adjacent to Roselea development recorded acidic condition down to 16m BLG. The local acidic groundwater has impacted a number of domestic bores along Jones Street within the immediate vicinity. The upgradient bore from the Roselea development on Graham Burkett Reserve recorded close to neutral pH values, indicating that the area east of the development site is not affected by groundwater acidity.

Monitoring bore SLA#6 located adjacent to the Stirling Lakes development indicated that acidic groundwater extended to 10m below the ground level, and this again is confirmed by a number of impacted domestic bore along Telford Crescent downgradient of SLA#6.

An assessment of the groundwater quality adjacent to the peat stockpile at the Stirling Lakes development found bore SLA#9 has acidic groundwater at 3m BGL. This indicates that the shallow acidic groundwater may be moving offsite in a south westerly direction. The upgradient bore SLA#12 recorded close to neutral pH values indicating that the area east of the development along Hamilton Street is not impacted by the acidic groundwater.

5.1.2 Arsenic

Arsenic is released into the environment naturally by weathering of arsenic containing rocks and from human activities. Several forms of arsenic occur in natural waters and the arsenic solubility is extensively influenced by redox and pH within the soil environment. In well aerated peat soils, the inorganic forms of arsenic are expected to predominate.

The World Health Organisation set the guideline concentration of arsenic at 0.01 mg/L (WHO, 1994). In Australia, the National Health and Medical Research Council has recommended a threshold of 0.007 mg/L (NHMRC, 1996).

Of the 49 domestic bores tested for arsenic, 22 exceeded the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines for arsenic as shown in Table 5. The highest arsenic concentration was about 114 times above the health guideline value. The arsenic hotspots, as shown in Figure 3, are generally located in those areas having low pH with the exception of one at pH 6.4.

The presence of oxidation of ASS generates significant amounts of acidity and mineral activity from the concentration of metals undergoing hydrolysis and dissociation in water. This is demonstrated in Charts 1 and 2 showing that higher concentration of arsenic is related to low pH value.

Chart 1: SLA#3 - Downgradient and at south-western extremity of southern Spoonbill Lake.

Chart 2: SLA#4 - Downgradient and at south-western extremity of northern Spoonbill Lake.

Arsenic contamination above the health criteria was detected in the monitoring bores downgradient of Spoonbill lakes and the development sites. Although SLA#1 located upgradient of Spoonbill north lake has shown high arsenic concentrations it could be attributed by the radial groundwater influence from the lake system. The highest arsenic detection was at SLA#5 on Jones Street that exceeded the health guidelines by more than 1000 times. The arsenic concentration ranges between 7.3 - 0.009 mg/L.

5.1.3 Lead

5Merry et al 1983 - Accumulation of copper, lead arsenic in Australian orchard soils. 6 Hart, B.T. 1982 - Water quality management: monitoring and diffuse runoff.

Lead contamination in the environment is likely from precipitation, fall out from dust in urban areas, street runoff, agricultural and industrial applications. The use of lead-rich herbicides and insecticides was a significant source of lead in the past, with some orchard soils receiving up to 10kg Pb/Ha/yr. This has caused lead concentrations in some of soils to exceed 5000 mg/kg⁵. Lead is generally present in very low concentration in the natural waters. In fresh waters, the main species of lead are those in the lead organic complexes, with very small amount of free lead ions. The acute toxicity of lead to several species of freshwater animals was greater in soft water than hard water.⁶ Both NHMRC and ANZECC guidelines are used to assess the lead contamination because the aquatic ecosystem is less tolerant to higher lead concentrations.

Figure 4 shows the spread of lead contamination in the sampled bores that exceeded the health guidelines ranging between 0.18 and 0.02 mg/L. In all 6 domestic bores and 6 groundwater monitoring bores exceeded the health guidelines and 4 groundwater samples exceeded the environmental guidelines for aquatic ecosystem protection.

5.1.4 Aluminium

7Campbell & Stokes, 1985 - Acidification and toxicity of metals to aquatic biota 8 Schofield & Trojnar, 1980 - Aluminium toxicity to brook trout in acidified waters. 9 Driscoll et al, 1980 - Effect of aluminium speciation on fish in dilute acidified waters.

The bioavailability and toxicity of aluminium is generally greatest in acid solutions⁷. Aluminium is generally more toxic over the pH range 4.4-5.4, with a maximum toxicity occurring around pH 5.0-5.2.⁸. Under very acidic conditions, the inorganic monomeric aluminium concentrations of only 0.1 mg/L can be toxic to some fish species⁹

Although there is no health limit for aluminium toxicity, the high aluminium concentrations can impact both flora and fauna and therefore the ANZECC 1992 guidelines for aquatic ecosystems protection were used to assess environmental risk. Figure 5 shows the extent of aluminium contamination in all the sampled bores that exceeded the ANZECC 1992 guidelines by orders of magnitude. The highest concentration is 58,000 times above the ANZECC guidelines for acidic waters.

5.1.5 Chloride Sulfate Ratio

The oxidation of sulfides to sulfate in ASS generates sulfate that will narrow the chloride (Cl) to sulfate (SO₄) ratio. The Cl:SO₄ ratio in seawater and in rainfall is 7. A Cl:SO₄ ratio less than 2 is a strong indication of an extra source of sulfate from previous sulfide oxidation. Table 5 shows that most Cl:SO₄ ratio in the monitored bores are less than 2 suggesting that they are affected by ASS, and that there is high potential of continuing acidification unless active management measures are taken.

5.1.6 Other metals

The groundwater sampling detected the presence of other toxic metals including copper, zinc, cadmium and nickel, but contamination by these metals is not considered wide spread within the impacted area.

Copper was detected in six domestic bores at concentrations that exceeded the ANZECC 1992 guidelines but were within the health limits. The exceedance is not considered high when compared to other urban catchments.

Zinc contamination was detected in 13 domestic bores at concentrations that exceeded the ANZECC 1992 guidelines. The zinc contamination is not considered excessive when compared to other urban catchments.

10McLaughlin et al, 1998 - Metlas and micronutrients - food safety issues 11Wakao et al 1984 - Bacterial pyrite oxidation III, Adsorption of Thiobacillus ferooxidants on solid surfaces and its effect on iron release from pyrite

Cadmium was detected in five monitored bores and in one domestic bore above the health limit. Compared to lead, cadmium is readily taken up by plants, but unlike the other metals, cadmium is not phytotoxic at low concentrations that pose concern from the human health viewpoint¹⁰. The highest cadmium concentration in groundwater is in Jones Street. It is interesting to note that the upgradient bore off Hamilton Street also recorded high cadmium concentration. It is likely caused by previous market garden practices in fertiliser and pesticide application on soils.

Total chromium was detected in three monitored bores and in one domestic bore above the ANZECC 1992 and the health guidelines. The concentration ranges from 0.07 - 0.31 mg/L.

Minor nickel contamination was found in six sampled bores with concentration ranging between 0.29 - 0.04 mg/L exceeding the health guidelines.

High iron and sulfate concentrations were found in most domestic bores. This is expected in areas affected by ASS where the oxidation of the pyritic sulfur produces dissolved ferrous iron sulfate, and further oxidation to ferric iron is mediated by iron oxidising bacteria, particularly Thiobacillus ferooxidans¹¹. At low pH the ferric iron remains in solution and diffuses to the pyrite surface where it is reduced to ferrous generating acidity. The soluble iron may migrate several kilometres offsite in acid solution before precipitating as ochre in a more oxidising environment. The residents in the affected area have reported increased iron contamination in their bores causing considerable staining and crop damage

5.2 Soil samples

5.2.1 Commercial growers

None of the soil samples tested exceeded the draft Contaminated Site Assessment Criteria guidelines 2000 value for arsenic of 20 mg/kg. Two samples exceeded the environmental investigation level for copper and one for sulfate

5.2.2 Peat Stockpile

Soil samples from the peat stockpiles were subject to net acid generation and gross acid production potential. Of the 20 samples of the stockpile materials 6 samples have high potential acid generation and one sample has moderate acid generation potential from Stirling Lakes development. Two samples from Roselea development show high acid generation capacity.

The results in Table 7 show the net acid generation and the gross acid production potential for the 9 stockpile samples. The highest gross acid production potential for the peat stockpile is estimated at 81kg H2SO4/tonne of soil material.

Stockpile Reference	Slurry	NAG	NAG H2SO4	Total Sulfur	Sulfur present as sulfate	GAPP H2SO4
	pH	pH	Kg/tonne	% S	% S	Kg/tonne
003	5.2	3.0	42	1.12	0.34	24
004	5.1	4.7	15	0.94	0.2	23
006	6.0	3.9	23	0.24	0.12	3.6
007	4.3	3.1	60	0.76	0.27	14
008	5.1	3.0	50	1.57	0.45	34
010	3.1	2.2	159	3.51	0.85	81
011	3.7	3.3	47	0.65	0.36	8.8
012	4.3	3.7	20	0.55	0.32	7.0
013	4.0	4.6	22	0.5	0.28	6.7

Table 7: The results of static acid based accounting test.

5.3 Plant samples

None of the plant samples tested exceeded the ANZFA Food Standards Code, 1998 value for arsenic of 1 mg/kg. Fourteen samples exceeded the ANZFA Food Standards Code, value for lead of 0.1 mg/kg. No samples exceeded the cadmium value of 0.1 mg./kg.