Corindi River cleared of 56 cubic metres of debris after summer of floods

How much waste do you think was sitting along one 5km of stretch of the Corindi River, north of Coffs Harbour?

A shed is left in the middle of a field after being destroyed by flash flooding. A significant amount of debris was also washed into the Corindi River. Photo: Tim Jarrett

A staggering amount of flood debris has been fished out from the Corindi River following a summer of intense rain and flood.

An Environmental Protection Authority contractor collected approximately 56 cubic metres of waste from a single five-kilometre stretch of the river, much of it from farms in the area.

The work, conducted by Avcon Projects Australasia, was part of the state’s largest ever clean-up of its waterways and served to prevent a significant amount of waste flowing downstream into the Solitary Islands Marine Park.

EPA director Arminda Ryan said Avcon had done an incredible job – and they didn’t do it on their own.

“The clean-up involved a significant amount of planning and combined innovative technology and aerial surveillance with on the ground intelligence from the public, community groups, council and other agencies to locate debris and waste,” Ms Ryan said.

“The end result means we have an enormous amount of debris now removed from the river, including a substantial amount of debris from surrounding agricultural activities like plastic sheeting, ‘grow bags’ and containers all part of the clean-up.”

Residents put damaged items put them out for collection in February. Photo: Tim Jarrett

Meanwhile, community recovery following the devastating storm which occurred in February continues with Coffs Harbour City Council preparing to host another stakeholder meeting on May 28.

The storm caused major flash flooding which inundated houses, destroyed farm equipment and left a number of people stranded during one harrowing night. 

Members of the Corindi community are encouraged to attend where there will be an update on the recovery as well as an opportunity for residents to raise concerns.

Joining representatives from Council will be Coffs Harbour MP Gurmesh Singh and representatives from the Department of Primary Industries, NSW EPA, Red Cross Local Land Services and others.

Members of the community can report flood debris in local rivers and beaches to the Environment Line on 131 555 or [e-mail].