Step by step the stink which became the Albert River sewerage spill

For 92 days sewerage flowed from a main pipe into the Albert River, just east of the M1 on the northern Gold Coast. Each day two Olympic-sized swimming pools of filth. READ HOW IT HAPPENED

For 92 days sewerage flowed from a main pipe into the Albert River, just east of the M1 on the northern Gold Coast? Each day two Olympic-sized swimming pools of filth.

How could this happen?

As you drive north on the Pacific Motorway, the 450mm pipe runs under the river, linking with the Beenleigh wastewater plant at Eagleby. It’s roughly in line with the rum distillery.

At least 350 million litres of sewerage has flowed into the river, which links with the Logan, flows past wetlands and prawn farms out into Moreton Bay.

A major sewerage leak has occurred on the Albert River. Picture: Glenn Campbell

Several agencies are investigating, not much data will be released. But the Environment Department (DESI) describes council’s system breakdown as a “catastrophic failure”.

Council will argue DESI is responsible for rivers. DESI says the City is “the polluter” and its Healthy Waterways Report Card is not meant to be an alert system.

DESI checks the river eight times a year - and claims the City in 2020 left the monitoring system.

The regulator says it will not just scrutinise council’s monitoring of the river, but its communication to the community and stakeholders about any risks.

This is how it began. On April 8 a “member of the community” alerted the council to the spill. Sources suggest the other indicator was Logan City had also communicated its bill for sewerage was much lower.

DESI says it was notified the next day and began its investigation. On April 12, it was advised by council the spill was “far greater than originally reported”.

A major sewerage leak has occurred on the Albert River. Trucks near the leak. Pic: Glenn Campbell.

On the weekend of April 13-14 your columnist got a leak on “the leak”, obtained photographs of open drains and two council warning signs and a copy of Seafood Production Queensland’s warning to commercial operators.

On the Monday, the City was asked: “But how long has council been aware and monitoring this? Was it a slow leak which began some time ago, and when?”

That question would not have been asked without the knowledge the answer was “several months”. But council in a 12-sentence response failed to respond.

A whistleblower who contacted The Bulletin said: “There has been a major sewage spill into the Albert River and council is downplaying the event to the media. There was a complete failure in a 450mm rising sewer main that neither Gold Coast or Logan councils detected.”

Sewer spill in the Albert River at the northern Gold Coast. This is water overflow in a drain.

Then the council days later, on the Friday at 6.40pm, after this newspaper’s print deadline, in the third line of an eight paragraph statement said the spill “may have commenced in mid-January 2024”.

Northern-based councillor Mark Hammel was furious, called for an independent inquiry, and finally the administration agreed to hiring independent consultants.

Reflecting back on major environmental disasters and January with the so-called “tornado” which swept through my suburb, the council including its senior management team and employees worked tirelessly to clean up the streets and help residents.

It’s a wonderful shiny moment after an awful natural disaster.

Reflecting back on minor environmental disasters, your columnist before work on collecting my council bin in the dark regularly steps on the poo of our two dogs. I know something stinks, return inside the house embarrassed, admit my stuff-up and clean my boots.

The Albert River spill is dark waters, and more light needs to shed upon it.

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