Kingborough Council requests EPA help to fix Derwent beach contamination

A southern Tasmanian council has requested urgent help from the Environment Protection Authority to fix its beach contamination issues.

Kingborough Mayor Dean Winter has requested urgent help from the Environment Protection Authority to fix beach contamination issues. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

A southern Tasmanian council has requested urgent help from the Environment Protection Authority to fix its beach contamination issues.

Kingborough Mayor Dean Winter wrote to EPA Tasmania boss Wes Ford last week to ask the authority if they could investigate extreme faecal bacteria levels at Blackmans Bay Beach and Kingston Beach north earlier this year.

He also asked the EPA to consider what assistance they could provide council to tackle the ongoing issue.

RESULTS ARE IN ON CAUSE OF BEACH CONTAMINATION

Cr Winter said the council had also proposed to employ a new full-time stormwater officer to lead the contamination investigations and implement their Recreational Water Quality Management Strategy.

Seagulls at Blackmans Bay Beach. Picture: Milton Lowe

Kingborough beaches were plagued by poor water quality results during the warmer months with the southern end of Blackmans Bay Beach closed for swimming all summer.

TESTS SAY PRIVATE PROPERTIES MAY CONTRIBUTE TO CONTAMINATION

Cr Winter said the recreational water quality at Blackmans Bay Beach south had declined rapidly in the past three years resulting in a long-term grading of poor and installation of no swimming signs in April 2018.

Kingston Beach also returned an “extraordinarily high” faecal bacteria result on March 21 this year with “no feasible explanation”.

Sign at the southern end of Blackmans Bay Beach. Picture: SAM ROSEWARNE.

Last month 10 out of 18 beaches in Greater Hobart recorded high contamination levels following rain. But a second round of testing showed the pollution had cleared by the end of the week.

The problems at Blackmans Bay have been traced to poor plumbing on a handful of private properties, as well as tree roots growing into stormwater pipes.

Cr Winter said Kingborough was committed to continuously monitoring and improving stormwater quality, but there was a “real possibility” other impacts outside their control were playing a part.

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He told the Mercury it was essential the EPA investigated the contamination events.

“Despite six months of hard work, we still don’t have a conclusive reason for the poor water quality across these beaches,” Cr Winter said.

“We’re doing everything we can, but we need some help.

“While councils are responsible for limiting pollution entering the Derwent through our stormwater system, we are not responsible for overall water quality.

“The concern I have is that without the State Government getting involved, the situation will get worse and more beaches will need to close next year.”

Cr Winter said Kingborough had amassed a large amount of water quality monitoring data, but despite being assessed internally and by scientists at the Derwent Estuary Program, no clear trends had been identified.

The council have included an additional $200,000 investment in their draft budget for managing and improving the stormwater system.

An EPA spokeswoman said they had received the request and were “keen to support affected municipalities to better understand the source of the pollution”.

She said options would be considered in due course.

“The EPA is monitoring the results from Kingborough’s water quality sampling and has conducted a limited investigation into possible damage to the sewer and stormwater networks,” she said.

“The EPA is maintaining regular communication with TasWater and Kingborough Council regarding this issue.”

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