Human waste found on more Sydney beaches
More fatbergs have been discovered on Sydney beaches, this time at Kurnell, with no signs that the Environment Protection Authority is any closer to discovering the source of the human waste that is contaminating Botany Bay. The EPA has ruled out the Bondi and Malabar wastewater treatment plants as potential sources for the sewerage leaks, raising concerns that an unknown source of human waste is leaking continuously into the environment in a location with high use by the human population.
Greens MP and spokesperson for the Environment Sue Higginson said “At this stage, the EPA can’t explain the source of the human waste causing the fatbergs, and it can’t assure the public that Sydney’s beaches are safe to use because of it. If our waste system is leaking sewage into the environment and onto our beaches, this should be a priority issue to resolve,”
“A few years ago, Sydney was losing close to 10% of its water supplies to the aged and cracked pipes that deliver the water around our city. This spate of human waste being washed up on beaches seems to be a red flag that we could be losing significant quantities of wastewater too, and we don’t even know about it,”
“As the Summer holidays approach and families prepare to be at the beaches, we need to know if human waste is leaking into our waterways and the EPA is responsible for communicating that clearly to the public,”
“It is not clear to me that the EPA has acted with clarity around this issue. From the initial reports that this sewage by-product was tarballs, and now having no clearer advice to the public than ‘watch out and report’, what is clear is that the EPA and Government are clearly not in control of environmental pollution and regulation in this State,” Ms Higginson said.