Dodges Ferry beachgoers cry out for stormwater solution after pipe discovered spewing effluent

Locals aghast to find a pipe spewing stormwater and effluent into one of their most beloved beaches are calling for an urgent fix to what they say is a human health and environmental disaster.

• Stormwater and septic tanks threatening our beaches
• Woman winched to safety after cliff fall
• Pumping s... into a seahorse’s garden

DODGES Ferry residents aghast to find a pipe spewing stormwater into one of their most beloved beaches have called for an urgent solution to what they say is a human health and environmental disaster.

Over the past few weeks, upset locals discovered an irrigation pipe had been set up at the Blue Lagoon corner of Red Ochre beach, pumping rust-coloured wastewater into the popular recreational spot.

Effluent spewing out at Blue Lagoon corner of Red Ochre beach, Dodges Ferry.

But that upset turned into uproar when locals heard rumours the Sorell Council planned, as a long-term solution, to permanently pump the stormwater into the nearby jetty beach at Tiger Head Bay, where people regularly swim and fish off the rocks.

A solution hasn’t yet been reached, but Sorell mayor Kerry Vincent is now consulting with community members before the council takes any long-term action.

“This year’s large rainfall has highlighted some stormwater issues in the area, which we are addressing,” he said.

“We will have further details in the coming months.”

The pipe fiasco is the latest instalment in a decades-long issue in the area.

Behind Red Ochre beach is a natural wetland, which seems to overflow about once a decade due to heavy rains.

In years gone by, the wetland would drain naturally to the ocean — with the council having previously widened those channels when necessary.

But given the removal of trees and native vegetation, the installation of a man-made walkway to the beach, and the building of new homes close to the water over recent years, blockages have built up — mixing with septic effluent that have threatened to flood residential homes.

Red Ochre Beach Dodges Ferry BY KELVIN BALL

In a bid to deal with that threat, Sorell Council piped the overflow to the beach.

Amid the rumoured plans at Tiger Head Bay, residents bombarded a Facebook group with photos showing that in fact, the shallow and protected waters were regularly used for swimming and recreation.

Concerned locals also petitioned the council with furious protests that their idyllic recreational spot was now hazardous to human health.

And, as the Southern Beaches Coastcare/Landcare president Gwen Egg explained, the over-draining of the natural wetland had dire consequences for native wildlife like frogs, ducks and birds too.

“Having let the water build up, they let it go in one go and they used a pipe, which is pretty obscene in my view, and they let it discharge in the middle of a beach,” she said.

Ms Egg and fellow Dodges Ferry resident Jess Fitzgibbon have helped form a new community group, Friends of Blue Lagoon, in response to the “heated” fiasco.

“People were worried about not only the human health impacts of that waste going into the beach but also the biodiversity impacts,” she said.

“I don’t want to see a big pipe going into this bay where kids jump off the jetty. I want to see it done really well, it’s an amazing opportunity for the council to work with the community on the best scenario for the environment, the community and for human health.”

Follow @ambervwilson