WICKERSLACK Lane resident Sue Gibson has lived on the banks of the Queanbeyan River with her husband for 45 years, and swims in the river every evening, as well as using river water for most household tasks.
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She said the new Googong development under construction upstream of her place was a concern for Wickerslack Lane residents who enjoy a pristine stretch of river with high quality water.
"We've used the water here to clean our teeth, to wash clothes, to bathe our children and grandchildren in, and we've had no ill effects from that in 45 years," Mrs Gibson said.
"[But] We're concerned about the viruses, the hormones, the faecal matter, the dog poo and all the pesticide run off from Googong when it's built. This is our swimming pool," she said.
Mrs Gibson photographed the recent containment dam breach at Googong and documented its course down Googong Creek and into the river.
She's corresponded with Googong co-developer CIC Australia asking them to fix the damage caused to the river by the spill, and said she didn't accept the explanation that this was an extraordinary rainfall event for the area.
"I cannot agree that the rain event was extraordinary. We have had two such events in the last two years," Mrs Gibson wrote.
"Local residents know that the weather events at Googong can be very different from nearby Queanbeyan, and pointed this out in their submissions in 2010. The mathematical modelling you used for predicting future storm events at Googong was based on records taken in Queanbeyan at the bowling club. I think that CIC should redo the model based on more reliable readings for Googong," she said.
