Double trouble as Gympie’s clogged water, sewage systems are laid bare

Gympie’s sewer mains have been blocking up at twice the expected rate, according to a new council report which has laid out the sorry state of the region’s water and sewerage services over the past year.

Gympie’s sewer mains have been blocking up at twice the expected rate according to a new council report which has laid out the sorry state of the region’s water and sewerage services over the past year. Contributed

Gympie’s sewer mains have been blocking up at twice the expected rate according to a new council report which has laid out the sorry state of the region’s water and sewerage services over the past year.

The report, which runs through to the end of June and covers the 2020-21 financial year, reveals the Water Business Unit failed to meet almost half of the key performance goals set out for it across the year.

Of 20 key targets the council failed to hit nine.

The region’s sewer system was the worst performer.

In the past 12 months 65 chokes or breaks in the system were reported to the council, a failure rate more than two times what was expected.

Water was another pressure point.

The region experienced 54 water service breakages in the past 12 months, well above the target of 40 or less the council had hoped to hit.

The council was forced to deal with 54 breaks in its water pipes, well above its target of 40 or less for the year.

Nine of these breaks were reported in June 2021.

Four council workers with the water unit were injured on the job with one having to take time off due to the injuries sustained.

Ongoing salinity problems at sewage treatment plants along the coast continued to cause problems, too.

The plants at Rainbow Beach and Tin Can Bay were in breach of their environmental licences for more than three quarters of the year thanks to elevated saline levels.

The council was called out to 65 sewerage blocks or breaks in 2020-21. It’s target was 30 or less.

These levels do not pose a health risk but can impact irrigation sustainability.

The council has applied to the Department of Environment and science to increase the licence limit at the Rainbow Beach, Tin Can Bay, Cooloola Cove and Imbil sewage plants.

Higher limits were originally considered at these sites before the existing licences were issued.

A tenth KPI failure for the unit was avoided thanks to an error identified in the report.

The report lists 11 sewage overflows, but an enquiry with the council revealed only five were recorded for the year.

One occurred in July 2020 when a blocked pipe caused an overflow near Gympie Central Shopping centre.

Another blocked pipe caused an overflow on Clematis St in October 2020, while three others occurred over the five day period from March 18-22 this year.

Two of the March incidents were caused by heavy rain.

Originally published as Double trouble as Gympie’s clogged water, sewage systems are laid bare