Noosa crowds flushed by al fresco poo

THIS is the last sort of movement flow that Hastings St needs: an overflowing toilet effluent.

OH POO: The last thing people want to see in Hastings St are overflowing toilets like Easter Monday pooey pavement flows. Picture: Contributed

THIS is the last sort of movement flow that Hastings St needs on a bumper Easter Monday or any day of the week for that matter - overflowing toilet effluent.

A Noosa resident of 45 years said the sight of sewage and toilet paper spilling from blocked public toilets under the Noosa Heads Surf Life Saving Club into the main street was not great exposure for the town.

The woman, who does not wish to be named, arrived with four grandchildren by "awesome" free holiday bus to find none of the toilets flushing.

After ringing Noosa Council, workers arrived on the scene fairly promptly and when she and her grandkids returned about two hours later the toilets were working again.

"But then as we walked further down it was overloading and there was a guy there putting up a barrier trying to contain it a little bit," she said.

The woman said the overflow damage had already been done as there was faeces and toilet paper for all to see on the pathway.

"There was all this water running down the hill into Hastings St. And people were walking in that because they weren't aware what it was ... nowhere near good enough - that's for sure."

She said the one amenities block was insufficient for the thousands that were down on the beach and in the street.

"It was absolutely packed - it's just not enough."

The woman said this is not a new problem as the toilets get blocked "on a reasonably regular basis when we're in the middle of school holidays".

A council spokeswoman said council plumbers arrived at the amenities within 20 minutes of the call-out and found the ladies toilet completely blocked.

"The plumber proceeded to unblock the toilets. The toilets did clear, but unfortunately this did not completely resolve the issue," she said.

"A specialist drain contractor examined the infrastructure using a digital camera to inspect the drainage system and found tree roots had grown through the piping system in several places. This issue, combined with the high usage, caused the drain to back up and overflow into the carpark."

"The contractor cleared the tree roots using a high pressure water jet."

She said now that the issue of tree roots has been identified, scheduled maintenance to clear the drains prior to peak holidays would be undertaken.