By Hannah Hammoud and Alexander Darling
Crews working on Melbourne’s North East Link road project are cleaning up a creek that turned bright blue after dust suppressant used during construction of the road project swept into the waterway.
The Environment Protection Authority is investigating the discolouration in Banyule Creek in Melbourne’s north-east after a complaint over pollution, and is overseeing the clean-up by North East Link Project workers.
Water in Banyule Creek has turned bright blue.Credit: Eddie Jim
Footage from Wednesday afternoon showed the water’s fluorescent blue hue in the creek near McCrae Road in Rosanna following the complaint.
“EPA officers are continuing to investigate pollution in the Banyule Drain at Rosanna. We are advising the public to avoid contact with the water,” the authority said in a statement on Thursday afternoon.
“The source originated at North East Link Project ... works. We are working to ensure no further escape of the dust suppressant. We’re also overseeing NE Link, the duty holder, as it conducts clean-up works.
“EPA will monitor the project, which will now assess how to ensure such incidents are not repeated. EPA investigations and assessments of any harm to the environment are continuing.”
The EPA has urged people to avoid contact with the water as a precaution.
Acting Premier Jaclyn Symes said she did not know which specific chemical had leaked into the creek.
“My advice is that it has been caused by rain and run-off, and there will be further information as that comes to light,” Symes said on Thursday.
On Thursday, a spokesperson for Major Road Projects Victoria said the spill posed no threat to the community, but suggested people stay away from the creek until the clean-up was completed.
The polluted water in the creek.Credit: Eddie Jim
“As we continue works to contain and clean up the site, we will work closely with the Environment Protection Authority to ensure impacts to the local environment are minimised.
“There is no threat to the community, however, we recommend locals keep away from the creek until reviews have concluded.”
Friends of Banyule president Michelle Giovas criticised the response to the spill, saying more effort should have been made to pump the chemical out of the creek on Wednesday.
“They put two lots of sandbags across Banyule Creek, but that had not stopped the discharge from going further down the waterway,” she said. “Residents are concerned that it has gone into the Banyule Flats wetlands.”
Giovas said the community was seeking answers about the exact substance and how far it had travelled into the creek.
“When things like this happen, we want to be kept informed. [North East Link Project] is not transparent about it. They don’t seem to take these discharges seriously,” she said.
“It’s this secrecy and lack of transparency … that is really upsetting.
“And because there’s no transparency, I don’t feel that they improve because it’s behind closed doors, and they’re in a rush to build the project.”
Giovas, who is part of the North East Link Project community liaison group – a consultation forum between the project’s key contractors and the local community – said the project’s managers had consistently failed to adequately address community concerns.
A spokesperson for Major Road Projects Victoria said the Banyule Creek was affected by “construction activities” from the nearby North East Link Project.Credit: Eddie Jim
“They tell us what they want us to hear,” she said. “For people living near the project, it’s a nightmare with noise impacts and constant dust.”
Tunnelling on the $26 billion project came to a halt in February after an 18-metre deep sinkhole emerged near its two boring machines.
The 4000-tonne machines stopped digging while engineers investigated the issue near the Lower Plenty worksite.
The 10-kilometre road, designed to connect the Eastern Freeway in Bulleen with the Metropolitan Ring Road at Greensborough, is expected to remove 15,000 trucks from suburban streets and halve travel times.
The project, which has been plagued by budget blowouts, is expected to open in 2028.
Banyule Council said it was aware of the incident and was working alongside EPA and Melbourne Water to investigate.
“We understand this has raised local concern – and we share those concerns,” the council said in a statement.
“While we discussed the possibility of local council drains being involved, we’ve been advised that our drainage system is not considered a source of the pollution.”
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