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Lake Kepwari is a man-made lake in the South-West of Western Australia, about ten kilometres South-East of Collie.[1] "Kepwari" is a Noongar word meaning "playing in water".
The lake is a former open-cut coal mine formerly known as Western Five, part of a mining lease operated by Wesfarmers Premier Coal from 1970 until 1996. It is two kilometres long, one kilometre wide and up to 70 metres deep. It covers 103 hectares and holds about 30 gigalitres of water.
Since 2003 rehabilitation work on the site has been undertaken to develop it as a community aquatic recreation facility. It has taken about five years to fill with water from Collie River South. In 2008 the state government allocated $3.29 million for the recreational development of the site.[2]
Its opening has been delayed however due to public safety concerns about the low pH levels (pH 4.5) in the water. The acidity is believed to be due to ground water leakage at its deeper points. The ground water contains high levels of iron which oxidises and causes acidity levels to rise.[3]
In 2009 the government called for submissions for an Environmental Impact Assessment relating to the effects of reconnecting Collie River South to the lake, which is intended to create a flushing effect. The river is upstream from Wellington Dam and was diverted around the southern edge of the site throughout the mining operations.
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