Ocean dumping - Sydney’s archaic sewerage system

"It is not just human waste that is being pumped into the ocean off Sydney’s popular beaches due to the city’s unusual and archaic sewerage system – government scientists have confirmed billions of microplastics are also polluting the water."

"Khan, who heads the school of engineering at the University of Sydney, said it was “not sustainable” to continue discharging “80% of the sewage produced by 5 million people into the ocean after only primary treatment”.
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/feb/16/sydney-sewerage-system-a-significant-source-of-microplastic-pollution-csiro-finds
#ocean #dumping #plastic #microplastic #pollution #MarineLife #harm #wildlife #Sydney #sewage #beaches #Manly #NorthHead

Pumping sewage into the sea has long been a Sydney thing
– and even $32bn won’t change that.

"Sydney Water plans to spend $32bn to improve the city’s sewerage system over the next 15 years but waste will continue to be pumped into the ocean off its famous eastern suburbs beaches."

"Some experts believe Sydney’s unusual sewerage system – which heavily relies on the coastal plants – is to blame for thousands of debris balls or “fatbergs”washing ashore over the past six months. What we’re currently doing now is not sustainable."
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/feb/01/pumping-sewage-into-the-sea-has-long-been-a-sydney-thing-and-even-32bn-wont-change-that
#ocean #sewage #dumping #Sydney #Manly #NorthHead #beaches #NSW #balls

Sydney's beach culture, conducted in diluted sewage?

"Sydney’s unusual sewerage system to blame for faecal and fat balls on beaches, experts claim. We know it’s a sewage source,” says the water policy expert Prof Stuart Khan. While the EPA says it hasn’t been able to identify the source of the balls, Khan suspects they are from sewage discharged through outfall pipes or washed offshore with stormwater after heavy rain."

"“The government is just unwilling to do what is necessary to clean up the waste. It’s obviously from the sewers. That’s where the faecal matter and the oils and the grease and all the stuff that’s in these balls.”"
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jan/18/sydney-beaches-debris-balls-cause-sewerage-system
#ocean #sewage #dumping #pollution #Sydney #beach #beaches #NSW #waste #sewerage #stormwater #shit #MysteryBalls #Manly #NorthHead #denial #EPA #OneHealth

"North Head viewing platforms reframe the cultural heritage and identity of North Head by honouring First Nations perspectives and values, and its environmental sustainability."

“At its core, this project is about fostering relationships with country that are reciprocal and respectful. It involves engaging with Indigenous knowledge and recognises that country is not merely a backdrop for human activities but a living entity with its own agency and significance.”

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/article/2024/jun/28/nsw-architecture-awards-north-head-viewing-platforms-chrofi
#NorthHead #Manly #EoraCountry #FirstNations #IndigenousKnowledge