Arthur Gorrie
In an unusual turnabout, Gympie Regional Council has blamed the environment for polluting its sewage, but only with salt.
A report to councillors says the problem of poor quality effluent from two of its Cooloola Coast sewerage treatment plants is more a result of salt water getting in than anything noxious getting out.
The report says the failure of effluent to meet state-mandated quality standards is not a health related concern, being limited exclusively to excessive salinity.
And that, the report says, is a result of a saline environment and is caused by salty water leaking in, not by anything which could damage the area’s pristine marine and estuarine eco systems
The report says this has caused excess electrical conductivity, a salinity measure which has indicated a consistent failure to meet the salinity standards specified in state government regulations.
The problem is a continuing one which was also reported in an early issue of Gympie Today last year.
Better news is that over the past 12 months, the Cooloola Cove plant achieved 100 per cent compliance with relevant environmental standards.
But Rainbow Beach was only compliant 25 per cent of the year, in October, May and June.
Tin Can Bay did slightly better over the same period, achieving 33 per cent compliance by passing the standard in August, October, May and June.
The result compares well with overly frequent failures of council sewerage infrastructure elsewhere in the region, along with water supply failures from ruptured mains in older parts of Gympie city.
