Anger at Greenvale Reservoir rubbish but Melbourne Water offers reassurances

RESIDENTS fear rubbish dumped near Greenvale Reservoir could be polluting water in the region.

Justin Crocker is fed up with finding rubbish dumped near Greenvale Reservoir. Picture: Rob Leeson.

RESIDENTS fear rubbish dumped near Greenvale Reservoir could be polluting water in the region.

Justin Crocker is angered by the amount of rubbish dumped in the area, particularly given how close it is to a water source.

“I feel disgusted because I know that when the wind changes direction, (the rubbish) blows into Greenvale Reservoir,” he said.

“I know that micro-plastics can’t be filtered out — which makes it even worse — and I get angry that nothing has been done about it.

“I’m not someone who can just walk past something like that — if I see something that’s not right, I speak up and do something.”

Despite Mr Crocker’s concerns, Melbourne Water regional services (west) team leader Jesse Barrett says rubbish is not entering the reservoir.

“Litter is not entering the water or impacting water quality in the reservoir,” he said.

“Melbourne Water undertook weekly site inspections and litter collection works during April after being notified about the issues.

“(We are) also investigating installing mesh netting in hot spot locations along our fence line to further reduce the chances of litter entering our land.”

Meanwhile, Peet Limited chief executive Brendan Gore said the property development company “had been receiving information from local residents about rubbish between our community of Aspect and the Greenvale Reservoir”.

“Much of this rubbish would appear to have been blown from building construction sites,” he said.

“Builders have been alerted to the issue and asked to better manage the inevitable waste that occurs during the construction process.”

Hume Council’s sustainable infrastructure and services director Peter Waite said there was no excuse for illegally dumping rubbish.

“Illegally dumped rubbish in Hume, whether it’s a food wrapper or boxes of waste, is damaging to Hume City’s landscape, environment and visual appearance,” he said.

In the past 12 months, the council has attended 5280 sites to collect litter and dumped rubbish, and spends about $2.2 million a year removing it from land that it manages, including roadsides.

Anyone who has information about illegally dumped rubbish in Hume should report it through the free Hume app or contact the council on [phone].

Alternatively, CLICK HERE to visit the Environment Protection Authority or phone [phone].