Disease or petroleum company?

earthbound · **Posted:** Sat Feb 06, 2010 8:21 pm

In the last few years I have lost a large apple tree, a couple of large mango trees, my two big avos look like they are going to die and now the macadamia looks like it's in some real trouble.

I have a petrol station over the road from me ans a couple of years ago they admitted they had problems with leaky tanks that had affected the ground water. They spent many weeks after digging out their tank, working on the ground. They would drop truck loads of sand into it, leave it for a few days, then dig it up and cart it away, then drop more sand in. This went on for weeks, the stench of petrol each time they dug the sand out was horrid.

They dug new water sample wells to monitor the ground water, I have one in my front yard, and there's more further away from the petrol station. Interestingly the company that owned the petrol station, I think it might have been BP were the ones doing the water tests. :crazy:

Of course I never heard any outcome....

But I find it strange that I've had so many tree deaths and can;t help but wonder whether there's some correlation. Might need to send a water sample from my bore off to get tested..

Avacado tree

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Avo, close up, each year you think it's comeing back with a few new shoots, but then it gets worse..

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My Macca tree that had been doing really well, now has many dead branches and more dieing back..

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Simo · **Posted:** Sat Feb 06, 2010 8:32 pm

That a lot of established trees dying in a short period of time and different species too, I say petrolium not disease. Talk to the local council enviros and ask the outcome of the test and tell them what is happening, they will jump at the chance to make money by slugging BP a heavy fine if they can. Get them to test the soil form the well in your yard and make BP transplant established trees to replace the ones they killed

dufflight · **Posted:** Sat Feb 06, 2010 9:34 pm

And lot and lots of money. New rain water tanks, above and below ground. Fresh water may not flush the soil as petrol likes to be on top.

Tristrin · **Posted:** Sat Feb 06, 2010 9:43 pm

sounds sucpicious to me; I'd say petrolium company, not disease

Tristrin · **Posted:** Sat Feb 06, 2010 9:45 pm

think we need spell check!!!
I am used to having spelling mistakes highlighted or auto-corrected when I send emails!

dufflight · **Posted:** Sat Feb 06, 2010 9:57 pm

I use google as my spell checker. :rock:

earthbound · **Posted:** Sat Feb 06, 2010 10:27 pm

You need to use Firefox as your browser, spell checker is built in, makes life really easy...

www.firefox.com

Jaymie · **Posted:** Sun Feb 07, 2010 8:21 am

well yes Joel, then you need to use it ;)

chillidude · **Posted:** Sun Feb 07, 2010 10:46 am

Joel

I'd be contacting AGAL (Aust Govt Anayltical Labs) if I was you and see if they can do the appropriate test(s) and, if so, how they would like you to take the samples.

AGAL Laboratories
3 Clive Rd, Cottesloe WA 6011(08) 9384 1511‎

Granny Smith · **Posted:** Sun Feb 07, 2010 11:20 am

Sad news, EB. Gardening in our climate is hard enough without added preventable problems. Unfortunately I suspect BP will shaft responsibility onto the owner of the petrol station. Not such a big fish to extract compensation from (from whom to extract compensation?) Maybe we need a grammer checker as well.

earthbound · **Posted:** Sun Feb 07, 2010 4:55 pm

Yeah I probably have very little chance of getting anything I imagine. After the site was shut down for about 2 years, they have no reopened it as a new petrol station, different company...

I did think it rather strange that they were doing the monitoring of ground water contamination themselves. And they admitted in a letter to local residents that there was ground water contamination and it was over the road, and they would continue to monitor the situation. Then that was all we ever heard....

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