Deluge dirties river

Derwent fails water-quality tests

THE start of the River Derwent water-quality summermonitoring program has seen poor results due to heavy downpours, says the head of the Derwent Estuary Program.

Much of the state was soaked last weekend, which has led to two beaches and 13 bays off the Derwent failing water-quality tests for swimming this week.

“This is quite a poor start to the season due to the 50-100mm of rain around the Derwent last weekend, which is massive,” Derwent Estuary Program director Christine Coughanowr said.

Councils, the Environmental Protection Authority and the Derwent Estuary Program collect water samples from 39 sites throughout the Derwent estuary every Tuesday from the start of December to the end of March.

Windermere Bay Beach and Nutgrove Beach West failed water quality tests for swimming this week, and Bellerive and Howrah West beaches will be retested.

Clarence City Council closed popular Bellerive Beach to swimmers on Wednesday until further notice.

Of the 13 bays which failed to meet required standards, results at the test site of the Mid-River Swim, off the regat- ta pavilion and just north of the Tasman Bridge, had unusually high bacterial readings.

“That site is almost always perfect — it’s probably reflective of a lot of run-off into the Derwent,” Ms Coughanowr said.

“Derwent conditions overall have improved over the last 3-4 years because we’ve had such dry summers, but a few wet summers could send it in the other direction, so there’s still work to do around stormwater management and localscale sewage networks.”

Ms Coughanowr said as a general rule, it was advised not to swim at sites around the Derwent for several days after heavy rain.

“As long as the weather stays fine and clear, certainly by Sunday when the weather starts to warm up again, the beaches will be back in good condition,” she said.

For the most up-to-date information, visit www.derwentestuary.org.au