Terrigal water quality: Stage 2 will identify where pollution is coming from
With the patrol season underway and people flocking to Terrigal Beach, locals have welcomed the news that a water quality audit has stepped up a notch following a grim discovery.
Central Coast
Don't miss out on the headlines from Central Coast. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The cause of poor water quality in Terrigal has been identified as animal and human faeces, along with illegal sewerage connections.
Now it’s time to discover where it is coming from.
With the patrol season starting last weekend, and nippers not far away, locals are keen to see urgent action on improving water quality.
Minister for Environment Matt Kean made a trip to Terrigal Beach this morning to announce stage two of the water quality audit in Terrigal. The audit is part of the State Government’s $500,000 election commitment to investigate and improve water quality.
Mr Kean said stage one was complete, which identified sources of the poor water quality, while stage two was now underway to determine where the pollution is coming from.
“The first part of this research project begins to tell us how widespread the pollution is in the area and what the likely sources are, so we can get on with fixing it for the community and the environment,” he said.
“The results of Stage 2 will then build the comprehensive picture we need to clearly identify and prioritise actions that will improve water quality in this beautiful part of the NSW coast.
“Terrigal is one of the most loved and iconic beaches. We want to ensure every single person that comes to our beaches knows that they are swimming in a clean environment.”
Stage two includes installing six flow meters and autosamplers at major nodes within the stormwater system and catchment in order to make the water testing process quicker and easier.
It is unknown how long the process will take and when locals are likely to see results.
Terrigal state Liberal MP Adam Crouch said results from the research would help the public make informed decisions about where they swim.
“I’ve seen people down here swimming in brown water,” he said.
“People deserve to know that their kids can play in the water safely and we’ve expanded the area of water testing to make sure of this.”
He urged people swimming at Terrigal to be vigilant, pay attention to signs and don’t swim at the beach for at least three days after rain.
The State Government and Central Coast Council together committed an extra $80,000 to the University of Technology Sydney’s (UTS) Ocean Microbiology Group to identify the sources of water pollution in the area for Stage 1.