Fish kill and swimming

[Tacklebags 404]

ADELAIDE'S beaches are not safe for swimming until three days after heavy rainfall, a landmark study of pollution in Gulf St Vincent has warned. And a trial website, set up last summer to warn beachgoers when to avoid swimming because of cloudy water from stormwater discharging into the Gulf, will be permanently extended, the Environment Protection Authority has announced.The findings of the EPA's final Adelaide Coastal Water Improvement Plan - ten years in the making - have led it to issue the three-day warning.EPA director of science assessment and planning Peter Dolan said the three-day warning would replace a general warning not to swim in "cloudy" water.He said studies had shown water quality had returned to normal three days after polluted stormwater from a major storm had flowed into the Gulf."The three days is a rule of thumb, we haven't emphasised that before, and we are saying three days rather than measuring it every time, because we know that after three days it will be fine,'' Mr Dolan said."The biggest problem is very early when the pollution is moving and what we have found is that after three days we will not find anything unusual (in the water)."There are all sorts of things which are being washed off the roads and road verges and down the creeks, everything from oil drops which have come from cars, animal faeces from dogs or horses, fertiliser.''Water quality in Gulf St Vincent has also been heavily scrutinised since mass fish deaths in March were found to have been caused by algal blooms, created by a combination of hot weather and high nutrients from stormwater and wastewater run-off.

We were told that algal bloom was a 'natural phenomenon'???[/quote]Reversing a trend in beach improvement in recent decades, the EPA report found extensive housing development in Adelaide's southern suburbs had caused deterioration in beach conditions in the southern suburbs, but not the northern or central suburban beaches.It commits the State Government to cutting particles of pollution allowed into the Gulf by 50 per cent, and algae-feeding nitrogen levels by 75 per cent. The report found the main sources are stormwater, sewage treatment and soda production facilities.Friends of Gulf St Vincent President Rob Bosley said he was surprised that the southern beaches were deteriorating and blamed housing growth, which had increased the volume of stormwater run-off going into the Gulf."We don't want to be too dramatic about it but people need to know that after a storm the beaches are not safe to swim in,'' he said."The problem is near the outfalls, where there are big events and not all of the rubbish is caught in the filter traps which are there. The traps are not doing their jobs and you can see the plume of sediment going out there.''Mr Dolan said the cause of the beach warning could partly be blamed on Adelaide's extended periods without significant rainfall and also currents which ran north/south rather than taking silt out to sea."There are all sorts of things that people leave on road verges which stay there until a storm and that all washes into the creek system and the stormwater system,'' he said."The material comes from surges when you have a lot of rain after no rain for a long time.''Mr Dolan said while pollution in the Gulf following storm events has been known for some time, the organisation has never been this specific in its swimming warning.Mr Bosley said the danger of swimming at Adelaide beaches following a storm event was not commonly known, but was well known to water experts.Friends of Gulf St Vincent have been campaigning to improve water quality at suburban beaches, regularly monitoring cloudy water, but the results have not shown a deterioration in conditions, Mr Bosley said."People need to be aware that if you cannot see your feet in waist deep water on Adelaide beaches you should not be swimming,'' he said.Mr Dolan said the deterioration in the southern metropolitan beaches was caused by suspended matter blocking light and nutrients."If you think about it, if the problem is stormwater flows, then the more development there is the some areas like the southern suburbs then the more hard surfaces there are, the less soaks into the grounds and the more run off there is,'' he said."In areas where Adelaide has developed in recent decades (southern suburbs) as opposed to recently, you have an increase in problems."In the last 20 years, the big increases in Adelaide development have been in the south and the north, but in the north the water goes into the Barker Inlet and mangroves which a block between stormwater and the sea."In the south, there are not as many wetlands so it is logical that this is where more damage is being done.''Residents in Adelaide's southern suburbs, through Facebook groups like "Investigations and Answers Now! For the Death of Gulf Marine Life'', continue to campaign for more information about the fish deaths and water quality.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/adelaide8217s-beaches-unsafe-for-swimming-for-three-days-after-heavy-rainfall-a-study-of-pollution-in-gulf-st-vincent-has-warned/story-fnii5yv7-1226700977917

[Just Me 0]

http://www.strikehook.com/forum/5-general-fishing/255517-pollution-in-gulf-st-vincent

[Drew 0]

Amazing that DEWNR are prepared to invest years in the introduction of marine parks but do little to nothing reverse the trend in declining condition of reed beds and minor drainage channels throughout the southern area. one only needs to look at the poplar growth at reed beds near Moana, weed infestations along other at Maslins, Pt Willy that outcompete native species and contribute to nutrient increases. If not for community groups, onka council efforts along Christie Creek and some landowners, storm water run off areas would be left for dead reducing the ability of these reed beds to naturally filter runoff. how about some real action on storm water management before wasting precious funding on something that may not help benthic ecology in any way otherwise.

[Tacklebags 404]

Amazing that DEWNR are prepared to invest years in the introduction of marine parks but do little to nothing reverse the trend in declining condition of reed beds and minor drainage channels throughout the southern area. one only needs to look at the poplar growth at reed beds near Moana' date=' weed infestations along other at Maslins, Pt Willy that outcompete native species and contribute to nutrient increases. If not for community groups, onka council efforts along Christie Creek and some landowners, storm water run off areas would be left for dead reducing the ability of these reed beds to naturally filter runoff. how about some real action on storm water management before wasting precious funding on something that may not help benthic ecology in any way otherwise.[/quote']This government had the opportunity to halve stormwater runoff into the gulf but decided to build the desalination plant instead. Propping up the 200 fat cat executives at SA water through the desalination plant was more important.TB