The dumping of 350 million liters of raw sewage into a river has sparked health fears over the consumption of fish, crabs and prawns taken from the waters.
Pollution of the Albert River on the northern Gold Coast in southeast Queensland has been called “catastrophic” after a sewage pipe in a paddock near Macpherson Road in Yatala was discovered two weeks ago to have a leak in the waterway.
Although the Gold Coast City Council quickly repaired the pipe, it is estimated that around four megaliters of sewage a day have been dumped into the river since mid-January.
That’s equivalent to about 140 Olympic-size swimming pools of wastewater going into the Albert River and then into the Logan River.
There are concerns about fish, prawns and crabs extracted from a river contaminated by a significant sewage leak.
The City Council has warned residents and visitors not to consume “seafood caught in the tidal areas of the Albert or Logan River until further notice.”
However, they said “microbial testing” has determined that the rivers, which are popular with swimmers and water skiers, are safe for recreational use.
However, the council appeared to backtrack and said the incident needed to be investigated “in its entirety”.
Tests are being carried out on shrimp farms along waterways to see if the crustaceans are safe to eat.
Gold Coast councilor Mark Hammel is amazed this could happen.
‘How is it possible that such a critical piece of infrastructure fails and it takes three months to know it failed?’ he asked Siete Noticias.
‘I have spoken to local shrimp farmers who are rightly very concerned that, in the middle of the harvest season and when most of their stock needs to be sold, they are being asked by state authorities whether certain stocks should be suspended.’ He said.
Gold Coast councilor Mark Hammel demanded to know how the leak occurred and went undetected for months.
Prawn farmers along the river are holding their breath as authorities conduct tests to see if the crustaceans can be consumed.
Fishing industry representatives told Seven News they had no further comment pending the test results.
The council’s executive general manager of infrastructure, Michael Kahler, said a specialist engineering firm had been hired to investigate the leak, how it went undetected and the effectiveness of the local response.
Kahler said the council understood the seriousness of what happened and was working with the relevant state agencies.
“We know that the results of water quality tests carried out over the last two weeks show that the river is safe for recreational use, which is very good news,” Mr Kahler said.
‘During the three months of the spill, we saw no identifiable fish kills or adverse environmental impacts coming to light.
“This doesn’t mean there haven’t been impacts, but now we need to focus on what the science tells us.”
Early investigations indicated recent high flows in the Albert River caused by heavy rain could have helped dilute wastewater and possibly lessen the impact.
There are also concerns about the possible “catastrophic” effect the leak could have on local wetland wildlife.
“The sensible approach at this time is to allow experts to conduct their investigation and we will continue to update the community as new factual information comes to light,” he said.
It’s not just the animals in the water that could be contaminated.
Robert Livingstone, of the Eagleby Wetland Community Group, said the river-fed wetlands are home to more than 200 native birds and a freshwater lake.
“It could be catastrophic for all the birds if this sewage leak affected their food source,” Mr Livingstone told the Gold Coast Newsletter.