Investigation Launched into Gold Coast Council After River Contaminated by Sewage Spill

More than 350 million litres of sewage have been spilled into a Gold Coast river after a broken Queensland council pipe went undetected for months.

The Gold Coast City Council may face prosecution after the state government announced it would investigate the “catastrophic failure.”

The broken pipe is believed to have dumped effluent into the Albert River at Yatala for up to three months, making it the state’s worst-ever leak.

“We haven’t seen a spill of this magnitude in Queensland to my knowledge,” said Brad Wirth from the Department of Environment, Science, and Innovation (DESI).

DESI mentioned that they would investigate the council, naming them as the “polluter.”

“This could result in enforcement action against the council, including a statutory notice and prosecution,” stated the department.

The department was first notified of the spill on April 9.

But three days later, the council provided an update, revealing that the sewage leak was much worse than initially reported.

It is believed that raw effluent spilled into the river between Jan. 12 and April 12, leaking three to five million litres a day.

“On April 12, the council informed DESI that the spill was far greater than originally reported and may have been ongoing for a longer period,” the department stated.

DESI mentioned that the investigation would focus on how quickly the council was informed of the health risks and their responsibility in managing the sewage network.

It will also assess the extent of environmental damage caused.

The council stated on April 24 that they understood the seriousness of the incident and had engaged an engineering firm for an independent investigation.

Michael Kahler from the council mentioned that water quality tests had shown the Albert River to be safe for recreational use over the past two weeks.

“During the three months of the spill, we observed no significant fish kills or adverse environmental impacts,” he said.

“This does not imply no impacts occurred, but now we must rely on scientific findings.”

Last week, the council issued a statement advising against consuming seafood caught in the Albert River until further notice.

Local prawn farms had to halt operations due to the incident.

Mr. Kahler stated on April 24 that additional test results would be available by the end of the week.

“These results should help determine if the recommendation against consuming fish can be lifted and if any impacts on the seafood industry have been identified,” he said.