Central Coast Council has been fined $30,000 by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) after it allegedly discharged over 140,000 litres of sewage from its North Sewage Treatment Scheme into a swampy area near the Toukley Golf Course.
On 8 March, Council reported a minor overflow of about 1,000 litres of sewage, contained in an inaccessible swamp area, after a concrete manhole cover fell into the sewage system and blocked a drain.
The EPA was then advised on 17 March the incident was more significant than initially reported. The discharge had in fact lasted around three days and some of the overflow had possibly reached Lake Budgewoi.
EPA Director Operations, David Gathercole, said officers investigated both the incident and the discrepancy in Council’s reporting.
“Sewage discharges like this can have severe impacts on the environment by reducing water quality, harming aquatic life, and affecting the health of local waterways,” Mr Gathercole said.
“This was a lot of sewage, and the information we were given at the time of the incident did not reflect the true scale of what happened.
“Tidal movements helped to dilute the sewage after the incident, and the ecosystem will naturally recover over time, and we do not expect any long-term environmental impacts.
“Communities expect councils and all licence holders to provide accurate and timely information so the EPA can properly assess risks, and we expect better from Central Coast Council in future.”
Council has engaged with a nearby aged care facility to confirm residents were not impacted by the event. The swamp area is inaccessible and is not used for recreation.
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