Resident fears clean up work will spill even more leachate on to Maroubra Beach

A MAROUBRA resident fears even more leachate is spilling on to Maroubra Beach since clean up work started last week.

Leachate pond

A MAROUBRA resident fears that since the works started last week to clean up the northern end of Malabar headland there is even more leachate spilling into South Maroubra beach.

The resident, who did not wish to be named, said he had noticed a pump releasing the groundwater into the headland bushes.

"The leachate pond collects whatever is coming out from the ground with heavy metals and all sorts of nasty stuff and they're emptying it straight out on the ground near the beach," the resident said.

"I don't know where it's going to end up (or)  whether it goes to the beach or sinks into the ground but the bottom line is it's now uncontained so I would imagine sometime down the track when it rains it would wind up down the beach somehow."

A finance department spokeswoman said a single stage treatment system was in place and a two stage treatment would be built for leachate before it left the site via the leachate ponds and was discharged approximately 50m to the south-east of Maroubra beach.

"The remediation upgrade works will mitigate the potential risks regarding surface water and groundwater contamination leaving the site," she said.