Inside sewer spill shocker and where to from here
For 92 days sewerage flowed from a main pipe into the Albert River, just east of the M1 on the northern Gold Coast? Each day two Olympicsized swimming pools of filth.
How could this happen?
As you drive north on the Pacific Motorway, the 450mm pipe runs under the river, linking with the Beenleigh wastewater plant at Eagleby. It’s roughly in line with the rum distillery.
At least 350 million litres of sewerage has flowed into the river, which links with the Logan, flows past wetlands and prawn farms out into Moreton Bay.
Several agencies are investigating, not much data will be released. But the Environment Department (DESI) describes council’s system breakdown as a “catastrophic failure”.
Council will argue DESI is responsible for rivers. DESI says the City is “the polluter” and its Healthy Waterways Report Card is not meant to be an alert system.
DESI checks the river eight times a year - and claims the City in 2020 left the monitoring system.
The regulator says it will not just scrutinise council’s monitoring of the river, but its communication to the community and stakeholders about any risks.
This is how it began. On April 8 a “member of the community” alerted the council to the spill. Sources suggest the other indicator was Logan City had also communicated its bill for sewerage was much lower.
DESI says it was notified the next day and began its investigation. On April 12, it was advised by council the spill was “far greater than originally reported”.
On the weekend of April 13-14 your columnist got a leak on “the leak”, obtained photographs of open drains and two council warning signs and a copy of Seafood Production Queensland’s warning to commercial operators.
On the Monday, the City was asked: “But how long has council been aware and monitoring this? Was it a slow leak which began some time ago, and when?”
That question would not have been asked without the knowledge the answer was “several months”. But council in a 12-sentence response failed to respond.
A whistleblower who contacted The Bulletin said: “There has been a major sewage spill into the Albert River and council is downplaying the event to the media.
There was a complete failure in a 450mm rising sewer main that neither Gold Coast or Logan councils detected.”
Then the council days later, on the Friday at 6.40pm, after this newspaper’s print deadline, in the third line of an eight paragraph statement said the spill “may have commenced in mid-January 2024”.
Northern-based councillor Mark Hammel was furious, called for an independent inquiry, and finally the administration agreed to hiring independent consultants.
Reflecting back on major environmental disasters and January with the so-called “tornado” which swept through my suburb, the council including its senior management team and employees worked tirelessly to clean up the streets and help residents.
It’s a wonderful shiny moment after an awful natural disaster.
Reflecting back on minor environmental disasters, your columnist before work on collecting my council bin in the dark regularly steps on the poo of our two dogs.
I know something stinks, return inside the house embarrassed, admit my stuff-up and clean my boots.
The Albert River spill is dark waters, and more light needs to shed upon it.
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NOD FROM THE BOSS
So where has Tom Tate been on the Albert River sewerage scandal?
The Mayor has been quiet but he tends to allow the City administration to deal with its challenges while he sorts out hisown with councillors.
Enough to say Cr Mark Hammel, very early on, drove down to his office, and has been vocal ever since about an independentinquiry. It does not occur without a nod from the boss.
HARD QUIZ HICKSON
One of this week’s best kept celebrity secrets was the appearance of Gold Coast award-winning media identity Wayne Hickson on Hard Quiz.
If you blinked, you missed the veteran Olympic writer on the ABC’s show where he started well, in his chosen category of “curling”, only to exit first after host Tom Gleeson’s put up his favourite subject - worms.
But producers of the Melbournefilmed show can spot comic talent, and before Wayne had exited for a much-needed glass of whiteat Docklands, they had signed him up for a future “best of the losers” series.
‘BUTTING HEADS’
At the Northern Chamber of Commerce breakfast earlier this week, Bulletin editor Ryan Keen asked future Deputy Mayor MarkHammel will he run for the big job in four years. He also asked him about working with Mayor Tom Tate.
He first admitted “butting heads” with Mr Tate in the first 12 months but learned to approach the Mayor and put forwarda “business case”. Their relationship took off. He also gave Donna Gates, who will leave the Deputy role in 12 months, a huge wrap. But to the big question, he replied: “To be honest, I haven’t given it a lot of consideration. I will consider it. I havea job to do in the first place (on City Plan and new colleagues to help). If you hit me with the question in a few years timeI will maybe have a good answer to give to you.”