Record river sewage spill worse than first reported

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Record stream sewage spill worse than archetypal reported

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By Laine Clark

July 5, 2024 — 3.34pm

Already described arsenic Queensland’s biggest sewage spill, an autarkic study present reveals the Gold Coast leak was worse than archetypal reported.

A fig of factors led to a burst sewage tube spilling astir 450 megalitres of effluent into the Albert River southbound of Brisbane, the study said.

A large sewage spill on the Albert River has been labelled the Gold Coast’s worst biology disaster.

The fig is 100 meaglitres much than what was archetypal reported erstwhile the authorities authorities launched its ain probe into the leak.

About 5 megalitres a time spilled from the Gold Coast City Council sewage strategy into the stream from January 11 to April 8.

Corrosion caused the tube leak, portion the Gold Coast council’s reliance connected the nationalist and different section authorities to observe spills contributed to wherefore it took truthful agelong to identify, the study said.

“The grade of the spill was confirmed connected April 12 with a full calculated spill measurement of astir 450 megalitres,” the autarkic study commissioned by the Gold Coast assembly said.

The assembly whitethorn look prosecution aft the authorities authorities announced it would besides analyse the “catastrophic failure” backmost successful April.

“We haven’t seen a spill of this magnitude successful Queensland to my knowledge,” the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation said astatine the time.

The authorities authorities probe is ongoing.

The autarkic study looked astatine the origin of the leak and the hold successful detection.

It said the Gold Coast assembly had a dependence connected the nationalist to study spills, noting “this method of alert is ineffective” for isolated sections specified arsenic wherever the leak occurred.

Higher than mean stream flows astatine the clip had besides reduced the imaginable for the nationalist to announcement the spill, the study said.

A deficiency of connection from neighbouring Logan City Council astir importantly little inflows astatine their Beenleigh works besides contributed to the leak detection delay, the study said.

The Gold Coast assembly said it had adopted the report’s recommendations.

“Much of this enactment is already underway including the improvement of a four-year captious sewerage unit main plan, targeted information assessments of each high-risk mains and reviewing of the circumstantial piping installed during that period,” assembly main enforcement Tim Baker said.

He said the assembly was besides co-operating with the authorities authorities probe.

“We tin guarantee the assemblage that we person taken this incidental precise seriously,” Baker said.

The assembly volition enactment with the authorities authorities and specializer consultants connected h2o prime tests to amended recognize immoderate biology impacts, with results expected successful August.

Local prawn farms had been forced to halt their operations portion the leak was contained and anyone who caught seafood successful the stream was urged not to devour it.

More than a period aft the spill was archetypal reported, the Gold Coast assembly reopened the stream for commercialized and recreational fishing.

AAP