City of Gold Coast Council is working with environmental regulators following the detection of a sewage spill in the north of the City last week.
The Council says it was alerted to a sewer main break in a paddock near the Albert River in the Yatala/Stapylton area – about 400m east of the M1 – early last week and immediately began repairs.
Those repairs were successfully completed on Friday.
“As a precaution, signage has been put in place asking the public to avoid the spill area and the City is investigating how long the sewer main had been broken,” Council said in a statement today.
During repairs, the broken sewer main was isolated, and tankers were utilised to manage the flows of sewage at the upstream pump station.
“The City has been monitoring water quality and initial results have confirmed that the risk for recreational users of the Albert and Logan rivers is low,” Council said.
“We will continue to assess water quality and address any potential risks in consultation with Queensland Health, the Department of Environmental Science and Innovation and Safe Food Queensland.
“The City is supporting Safe Food Queensland to engage with the Aquaculture industry to assess any impacts to their operations. Safe Food Qld is the lead agency for engagement with the Aquaculture Industry.
“We are also working with landowners and businesses in the area which may have been impacted by the spill.”
Council says the extent of the leak is still being calculated but it is estimated, that loses were in the vicinity of 4 mega litres per day. Detailed investigation to quantify the duration and total of the loss are currently underway.
