Media release – Dr Mark Veitch, Department of Health, 22 December 2024
Public Health alert lifted for most of Derwent River
The Public Health alert advising against swimming in the River Derwent, issued on Thursday 19 December, has been lifted for all locations except the western end of Bellerive Beach.
The warning followed a process failure at a TasWater sewage treatment plant, which led to incompletely treated effluent entering the river.
Water samples collected by councils on Friday have shown that water quality at the following monitored beaches is safe for recreational activities, including swimming:
- Nutgrove Beach in Sandy Bay
• Long Beach in Sandy Bay
• Howrah Beach
• Little Howrah Beach
• Windermere Beach in Glenorchy
However, testing identified a localised water quality issue at the western end of Bellerive Beach, which is now subject to further investigation by Council. Public Health advice remains to avoid swimming at this location until further notice.
Director of Public Health, Dr Mark Veitch, confirmed that water quality testing results indicate it is now safe to resume recreational activities in the Derwent River.
“I am pleased to confirm that the water in the River Derwent is safe levels for recreational activities at all locations except the western end of Bellerive Beach,” Dr Veitch said.
“This is great news for the Tasmanian community as we head into warmer weather and the holiday season.”
While the test results are reassuring, Dr Veitch reminded the community of longstanding advice to wait at least two days after heavy rain before swimming at urban beaches and to avoid swimming near stormwater outlets. Rainfall can wash pollutants into the marine environment, temporarily affecting water quality.
Background:
The failure of a sewage treatment plant near Berriedale in Hobart’s northern suburbs last week resulted in incompletely treated effluent entering the River Derwent.
Public Health Services issued a precautionary notice on 19 December 2024, advising against swimming in a large stretch of the river.
This incident has been managed collaboratively by the Environment Protection Authority, TasWater, and the Department of Health.
Media release – TasWater General Manager Operations Brendan Windmeyer, 22 December 2024
Update on Cameron Bay Sewage Treatment Plant
“Last week, high strength trade waste above allowable limits was discharged to our Cameron Bay Sewage Treatment Plant by Mondelez International, significantly impacting its performance.
Unfortunately, due to the high strength of the waste the bacteria at the plant were wiped out, effectively taking the plant offline.
We ceased accepting trade waste from Mondelez and our team worked around the clock late last week and through the weekend to get the plant back up and running.
On Saturday we reseeded the plant with the bacteria required for treatment, which was trucked in from our Blackmans Bay plant.
The plant is now treating wastewater again and will continue to improve in the coming days, and we are confident there is no longer a public health risk to downstream users of the river.
It’s pleasing that along with testing results from beaches in the area, this has given the Director of Public Health Dr Mark Veitch confidence to remove the no swim advice for the Derwent aside from one localised issue at the western end of Bellerive Beach.
We remain in ongoing and collaborative discussions with Mondelez on its waste treatment solutions and until we can be confident in its ability to discharge compliant waste, we will continue not to accept trade waste from the Claremont site.”
