Another act of Council Bastardry exposes the public to further recreational water contamination and major health risks!
A group of long time local fishermen have reported that Council is releasing sewage at the Spit on incoming tides. The video clip shows the Pump Station running at the Seaway at 7.30pm on Monday 24 February. One member of the group stated “The pump is supposed to run only at the top of tide, which enables the sewage to flush with the outgoing tide”. That wasn’t until 9:07pm one and half hours later. “This has been happening for years” he said.
Releasing sewage on incoming tides means sewage is flowing back into the Broadwater and upstream through the Nerang River with possible contamination of residential canals throughout the city.
Analysis of Council’s own data shows E.coli levels up to 680 times above safe limits in recreational waterways over the past eight years. Findings also show that Council secretly stopped testing recreational waters for E.coli in November 2017. No test results or public health alerts have ever been published.
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A mate was diving at the rock wall at the spit, years ago, found a pair of sunnies, brought them up and they had slimy, poo smelling slime all over them.
Darren Crawford Darren, for the record, I was assigned a senior member of GC Waste and Water to work with me to handle my queries. We ‘worked’ together for some months as I attempted to understand the various phenomena impacting the Ramsar Internationally Protected Coombabah Wetlands and Designated Fish Habitat. I found GC W&W to be highly professional, patient, courteous, objective and helpful. That was until the issues we were working on (mostly serious public health risks) were sequestered by the CEO’s Complaints Office in early December. The complaints manager then advised me that he was assessing all matters, that until he had responded in full I was not to post or discuss the issues on FB, nor speak directly with Council officers or with Councillors…After a number of weeks he then stated that it would take a further 9 weeks (plus public holidays) to respond. I replied stating that as these issues presented a serious public health risk, every moment of every day had the potential to expose residents unwittingly to contracting disease. I stated that I was not willing to keep these issues quiet or I would be acting with equal deceit and culpability as GCCC…I realised a short while later that he intended to keep these matters quarantined until after the March 28 council elections. With regard to my impression of GC Waste and Water, I truly believe that they have a social conscience as you would expect in that role, where they hold the responsibility of life or death in their hands. My impression was that they have been severely constrained by tight budgets, making it almost impossible to operate their systems effectively. Regards, Steve
All I see is photos and unproven statements. If you are so passionate about this how about you get water tested and show the results. Then the general public may get onboard. Until then your posts mean nothing.
Darren Crawford
1. The video sound is linked to image of a painted structure that can be identified where it is said to be located.
2. The pipe at the Seaway that comes from the Tallebudgera sewage treatment works contains sewage that has been filtered and bio digested in part, its not been cooked or sterilized so therefore is raw.
3. A vast amount of that ‘treated’ raw sewage with ecoli and other pathogens and nutrient pollution remains in the pipe when pumping stops, and then mixes with stormwater added to the pipe from heavy rain.
4. The big round structure above the pipe at the Seaway is an open top vent that allows excess water under pressure to rise up above sea level if sea level pressure at the pipe opening is back-pressured by a heavy wave rolling over it. I think that open vent would be fitted with an electric fan to blow the stink from the pumped effluent high upwards away from Seaway visitors, that fan likely being the noise on the video.
5. GCCC wastewater system is out of date and cannot cope with the existing population let alone an increase from more high rise tenants and visitors.
6. The unmanaged nutrient load in GCCC sewage wastewater is now often amounting to nutrient pollution linked to invasive or toxoc algae blooms killing seagrass nurseries for small fish in the ocean food chain. Statvarion and mass mortally of marine animals is resulting.
7. I think GCCC wastewater could be now viably pumped far inland to grow cotton and hay to help drought proof farming and grazing, because it’s now possible to use viable solar and pumped hydro power during the process, instead of wasting available money on outdated traffic jamming ‘light rail trams.
John Fairfax
Incompetent, greedy, corporate criminals.
Sorry but which pump station are you at here Steve, the footage is very unclear as to your exact position? Are you on the southern or north wall?
Suzanne Tinker check this out mate
Jade van der Wall Juz Towner Emma Salgram Allison Gain Charles Lowe hideous hey…..freakn councils..????????
A city-wide referendum held in 1998 made it clear the overwhelming majority (68%) of residents opposed dumping sewage into the ocean. The result of the expensive referendum has been ignored by the state government and the council. https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/protest-hits-sewers-paradise
And we all swim and go fishing in this crap . Mr Tate needs to take responsibility for these actions . This makes me so angry