Riverglade Reserve  Image: Leanne Barrett

Heavy rains over recent weeks have resulted in Sydney Water discharging raw sewerage into Tarban Creek north of Gladesville Road bridge.

There was so much untreated effluent discharging into the harbour that it deprived the Riverglade Reserve mangrove estuary of oxygen and caused mass fish fatalities.

Image: waterairpollution.org

Effluent threatens the viability of the mangroves, which would lead to the proliferation of weed species and damage aquatic life, particularly the molluscs and fish species that rely on the mangroves. The health of the living harbour is under threat.

The Environment Protection Agency currently gives Sydney Water, an agency owned by NSW government, approval to discharge raw sewage into Sydney Harbour.

We treat Sydney Harbour and beaches as an extension of the sewage system, while across the ditch in New Zealand a major waterway now has legal protection as a living entity with its own ‘rights and values and legal status as a person’.

NSW Government fails to address basic infrastructure requirements. The Sydney sewerage system needs to be totally upgraded BEFORE another toilet is given planning approval.