Blackmans Bay, Nutgrove Beach worst for water quality within Derwent

The annual report card on River Derwent water quality has been released. Find out which beaches are the worst.

People walking along Nutgrove Beach in Sandy Bay. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

Nutgrove Beach at Sandy Bay and the southern end of Blackmans Bay have been rated as having the worst water quality within the Derwent estuary.

The 2018 report card on the health of the Derwent was released on Tuesday and delivered mixed results for the river.

The majority of Hobart beaches were rated healthy, with Hinsby Beach, New Norfolk, Little Sandy Bay and Little Howrah Beach ranked as having the best water quality within the estuary.

High rainfall was partly blamed for the poor quality at the western end of Nutgrove and southern end of Blackmans Bay, but Derwent Estuary Program chief executive Ursula Taylor said there was “no smoking gun”.

TESTING REVEALS RIVER’S POOR QUALITY

CONCERNS LINGER OVER FAECAL CONTAMINATION

Warning sign not to swim at Nutgrove Beach in Sandy Bay. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

“It’s often due to a combination of sources — it could be dog droppings, it could be human contamination, it could be birds,” Ms Taylor said.

“tormwater is still a major contributor to poor water quality in not just these sites but the estuary as a whole, and it’s worthy of our attention across the board.

“We certainly encourage and will continue to work with our council partners and state government to look at stormwater.”

Heavy metals in Derwent estuary oysters and mussels declined in some areas but remained well above national food safety standards, with bream also declared off-limits.

Ms Taylor said healthy adults could eat two meals of Derwent-caught fish a week but advised children and breastfeeding women to limit their intake to one.

She encouraged people to do their part to protect the health of the Derwent.

“As an individual, we can do a lot too — like picking up after our dogs, picking up our litter, being aware when we wash our cars that the water goes straight down the drain and goes into a creek,” she said.

“Fertiliser in our gardens ... it can all end up in our waterways.”

The 2018 report card looked at the long-term health of the Derwent throughout that year.

Earlier this month, several beaches were closed after extremely high levels of faecal contamination were detected in the Derwent from an unknown source.