Retrieval of car from Blue Lake successfully completed

SA Water’s Mount Gambier-based team, together with crane and diving experts, today safely removed a partially-submerged vehicle from the south-east’s iconic Blue Lake.

Until this morning, the car had been floating in a secure, sectioned off part of the reservoir, after it was involved in an emergency incident in early August.

SA Water’s Senior Manager of Production and Treatment Lisa Hannant said the retrieval was a complex and delicate process.

“Although the actual lift only took around 45 minutes, we have been busy planning and considering all possible aspects of this operation for the past several weeks,” Lisa said.

“This type of job is very unique, but we still treated it like any other major work in terms of putting the safety of the community and our workers at the forefront.”

The bulk of on-site preparation began yesterday, including set up of the crane, and the use of divers to manoeuvre the car into position.

“Early this morning, the dive crew floated the vehicle around 200 metres to the retrieval area, before it was lifted out of the water by a 220 tonne crane with a 71-metre arm, which was situated on a higher level within our pumping station site,” Lisa said.

“Once out of the water, the car was placed on a truck and transported off-site to be used by the State Emergency Service (SES) for training exercises.”

Mount Gambier’s drinking water supply was, as a precaution at the start of today’s exercise, switched to being sourced from the local borefield.

“The water remains safe to drink, but some customers may notice a slight difference in taste and/or colour,” Lisa said.

“SA Health were notified of the change, along with the local hospital and any critical customers, as per standard procedure.

“Water quality results from samples collected from the lake after the car was removed, will determine when water supply can again be sourced from the Blue Lake.

“At this stage, we expect results to be available and the supply switch to occur on Saturday afternoon. Once confirmed, we will update the wider community via social media.

“All sampling and testing to date of water from the Blue Lake has shown no signs of contamination as a result of the car’s presence in the lake. Containment measures were also in place around the car in the lead-up to and during the removal process.”

Traffic management will be removed from the nearby street, once all equipment and machinery used as part of the car retrieval has safely left the area.

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