Christies Beach partly closed after release of un-disinfected wastewater from treatment plant
PART of a popular Adelaide beach has been closed to the public because of contamination caused by undisinfected wastewater being released into the ocean.
PART of the seafront at Christies Beach is closed to the public because of contamination caused by undisinfected wastewater being released into the ocean.
A chlorination system fault, discovered by staff at the Christies Beach Wastewater Treatment Plant on Saturday morning, has led to six megalitres of clean and treated, but un-disinfected, water discharged into the ocean overnight.
SA Health principal water quality adviser, Dr David Cunliffe, said as a precaution people should avoid the water at least 200m either side of the outfall pipe until further notice.
“People who come into contact with un-disinfected wastewater could experience gastrointestinal illness, including diarrhoea and vomiting,” he said.
“If people come into contact with the wastewater and develop an illness they should contact their medical practitioner.”
Staff immediately fixed the automated chlorination system and monitoring alarm, returning the plant to normal operation.
It was expected 400m of the beach, marked with signage, will remain closed for at least two days, until the un-disinfected water dissipates and test results due to return on Monday confirm it is safe.
SA Water is thoroughly investigating the incident and apologised for the inconvenience.
“Our top priority will be understanding what happened, to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” SA Water senior manager Lisa Hannant said.
“The affected piece of equipment has already been replaced, the plant is operational and additional monitoring processes are in place while our investigation is underway.”
Chlorine disinfection is the final stage in the wastewater treatment process that kills any microorganisms that remain after filtration processes have cleaned the water of solid or organic matter, SA Health clarified in a release.
Water Minister Ian Hunter will not be making any comment over the system fault.
Local Hayley Conduit, 25, was annoyed authorities did not notify nearby residents.
“How come they didn’t tell us? I won’t be able to take my dog for his daily walk, that’s all I come here for,” she said.
Robert Payne, 52, of Morphett Vale went to the popular beach with his father visiting from the United Kingdom but was disappointed it was shut.
“I presumed it was something in the water,” he said.