Council insider: We are concerned about sewer leaks in our older suburbs as they grow

The Environment Department probe into the Albert River sewer leak is complete but now there will be a bigger ratepayer bill. READ ABOUT THE FUTURE COSTS

State Environment Department officer undertaking investigation on the Albert River sewer leak.

The Environment Department probe into the Albert River sewer leak is complete. The City must spend $2.1 million in works fixing wetlands. There will be a bigger ratepayer bill.

Council has dodged two political bullets. But it has been wounded by a third.

Their first escape was courtesy of the location of the leak – each day from January through to April, two Olympic-sized swimming pools of sewerage went undetected from a busted main pipe into the Albert River.

Imagine the tourism backlash if this was in the Tallebudgera or Currumbin creeks?

But Albert River is poo brown, and the heavy rains flushed the sewerage out like your toilet.

The second bullet missed was council and its officers not facing a prosecution.

Investigations by State Environment Department officers after the Albert River sewer leak.

The Department instead has taken a sensible cost option for the community, an “enforceable action” – one of the largest in Queensland. Ratepayer money will be reinvested in improving the river banks and wetlands rather than wasted on lawyer fees.

The “enforceable action” is outlined in an 18-page agreement. The key takeaways are:

* the city unlawfully caused “serious environmental harm” and there were significant negative water impacts on the river.

* concentrations of ammonia increased “to levels previously unrecorded” by the Department’s long term monitoring.

* molluscs would have been impacted and fish moved away, metals were found above the relevant guidelines along with PFAS related chemicals.

Albert River sewer leak investigation.

The City had to sign off on a “statement of regret” saying it “deeply and genuinely regrets the occurrence of the incident”.

What is the bullet the council did not miss? This has budget consequences for you and I.

This is a commitment to the future, that the behaviour and activities which caused the incident “has ceased and will not occur”.

This is all about the dreaded R-word – the renewal of ageing assets.

A City insider says: “This wasn’t an old pipe, it’s not 100 years old. It was put in less than 20 years ago. We’re concerned about infill situations now, aggressively increasing capacity in suburbs. Are we going to have situations like this occur in other suburbs due to older pipes.”

The City has committed to implementing the recommendations by AECOM.

Consultants found flow meters – devices checking the daily amount of waste water – installed at a nearby pump station were removed before the incident.

State Environment Department officer undertaking investigation on the Albert River sewer leak.

The City’s expenditure on wastewater assets had been halved, the Coast was spending three to four times less annually than neighbouring local authorities despite a population boom.

This is where light rail enters the picture.

About $14m of ratepayer money is being spent on preparing Stage 4 light rail to the airport despite the project’s future in limbo until the state election. Almost half of that, is on fixing the sewer mains and drainage.

The early tram works foreshadow the costs across all older suburbs as they build up.

The next big stink will not just be about paying the bills for sewer leaks – it’s your water and waste bill for “replenishment” works.

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