Sewerage discharge deemed safe by Power and Water Corporation

Power and Water says plume of murky discharge from the Ludmilla sewage treatment plant comes from an excess of iron.

A PLUME of murky discharge from the Ludmilla sewage treatment plant has come from an excess of iron particles and has been deemed safe by Power Water Corporation.

The plume drew the attention of tourism industry on Thursday after it extended about 1km into Darwin Harbour but Power and Water senior manager Skefos Tsoukalis said testing of the discharge showed it was safe.

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“The plume is due to excess iron precipitate — small particles — carried over from the treatment plant, which has accumulated in our discharge pipework and was pumped into the harbour through the East Point Outfall,” he said.

“The precipitate is not shown to have any environmental impact and is part of the extensive monitoring of water quality and (organisms) at East Point.”

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Mr Tsoukalis said the treatment plant invested significant money to ensure their practices were made safe.

“Power and Water invests over $1 million in monitoring of the Darwin Harbour to ensure that our impact on the environment is minimised,” he said.