Waste Management: A response

A response to: Unsustainable Tasmanian Waste Management

Wednesday 8 June 2016

To whom it may concern,

It is wrong and misleading to say the recent rainfall event at Copping is a 1-in-100 year event.

When the Southern Beaches Conservation Society contacted Southern Waste Solutions, we immediately responded with a status update, but it is clear that the organisation had wrongly jumped to its own conclusions.

For a 1-in-100 year event to occur, it requires 230 mm of rain in two days or 170 mm of rain in one day.

The most statistically significant rainfall events at Copping in the past three years are as follows:

– April 2013 was a 1 in 2,000 year event with 105 mm of rainfall in 90 minutes

– January 2015 there was a 1 in 20 year event with no discharge

– The current event for June 2016 is a 1 in 20 year event with no discharge

It is wrong and misleading to suggest that in April 2013 we suggested the event was a 1-in-100 year event and unlikely to happen again.

This is not how the classification system works.

As an organisation we have been open and transparent in our dealings and have invited those who are concerned with our operations to attend a personal briefing as well as joining our Community Reference Group.

It is disappointing and frustrating that despite this openness we still face those in the community who would seek to make comment prior to seeking to verify their information, especially at a time when the state is facing significant natural disaster.

Yours,

Christine Bell

CEO