2 May 1969 Letter to Bairnsdale Waterworks Trust from Agricultural Department: “… regarding aerial spraying on river flats adjacent to the Mitchell River and possible danger of pesticides contaminating the Bairnsdale water supply. As area of vegetables at Lindenow was sprayed last summer from the air at a point approximately 15 miles upstream from the Bairnsdale pumping station… These crops were sprayed four times from December to February with DDT at the rate of 1 pound of active ingredient per acre, one of the DDT sprays did include Maneb at the rate of 2 pounds per acre … Ground crops were also sprayed by ground machines including – Insecticides: Disulfoton, Demeton-s-Methyl, DDT and Trichlorphon – Fungicides: Copper Oxychloride, Quintozene and Dichloran – Weedicides: Linuron, Prometryne, Chlorthal and Trifluralin… Many of the crops sprayed by ground machine run right through to the riverbank, but it is unlikely that the spraying operations, whether from the ground or air could be responsible for any contamination. However pesticides could be introduced into the stream by operators washing spraying equipment in the river, allowing washings to be returned to the river or by disposing of empty containers in the river…”

1969 May: Mitchell River Spray Regimes

2 May 1969 Letter to Bairnsdale Waterworks Trust from Agricultural Department: “… regarding aerial spraying on river flats adjacent to the Mitchell River and possible danger of pesticides contaminating the Bairnsdale water supply. As area of vegetables at Lindenow was sprayed last summer from the air at a point approximately 15 miles upstream from the Bairnsdale pumping station… These crops were sprayed four times from December to February with DDT at the rate of 1 pound of active ingredient per acre, one of the DDT sprays did include Maneb at the rate of 2 pounds per acre … Ground crops were also sprayed by ground machines including – Insecticides: Disulfoton, Demeton-s-Methyl, DDT and Trichlorphon – Fungicides: Copper Oxychloride, Quintozene and Dichloran – Weedicides: Linuron, Prometryne, Chlorthal and Trifluralin… Many of the crops sprayed by ground machine run right through to the riverbank, but it is unlikely that the spraying operations, whether from the ground or air could be responsible for any contamination. However pesticides could be introduced into the stream by operators washing spraying equipment in the river, allowing washings to be returned to the river or by disposing of empty containers in the river…”