Harbouring a problem
BUFFALO Creek has retained its unenviable title as the most polluted part of Darwin Harbour, according to a new report
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BUFFALO Creek has retained its unenviable title as the most polluted part of Darwin Harbour, according to a new report.
For years, the area has failed environmental assessments on water clarity, dissolved oxygen, algae and nutrient levels.
In the Darwin Harbour Region Report Card 2015 released last week, the year gone has proved no exception, with Buffalo Creek marked negative in every section tested.
The area actually slumped in its report card ranking from ‘D’ to an ‘E’ in 2015 — the worst possible mark available under the current system.
An ‘E’ indicates “very poor water quality. No water quality indicators meet desired levels”.
The decline of the area came despite previous promises by Power and Water to “improve the quality of effluent” from the Leanyer/Sanderson Wastewater Treatment Plant.
This promise was made in 2012, following a similarly stark report finding.
“Since the Darwin Harbour Report Cards highlighted high nutrient levels in Buffalo Creek, Power and Water has worked to optimise the performance of its Leanyer/Sanderson ponds,” read a statement at the time.
In response to the new report, a spokesman said the corporation needed more than $100m to restore the area to health.
“Significant investment is required to upgrade the infrastructure ... to substantially improve the water quality of Buffalo Creek in the long-term,” the spokesman said.
“Power and Water continues to invest significant effort and resources into understanding the impact of its operations on the estuary.”
A number of joint research projects with CDU are underway to, according to the spokesman, “consider the improvement of biological process of the ponds”.
On the other side of the coin, the best rated part of the harbour was Shoal Bay, which received an ‘A’ grading in 2015, up from a ‘B’ the year prior.
The other seven areas of the harbour assessed also received healthy ratings, including an improvement in quality at Myrmidon Creek.