By Peter Douglas
The Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) and Melbourne Water are teaming up to investigate a series of pollution events along Dandenong Creek, one of which includes at Ferny Creek on Tuesday 22 May.
After an initial campaign for the EPA to become involved, the issue reached boiling point after extensive media coverage over an incident in Heathmont on Saturday 19 May, which showed images of foam spewing forth from the creek.
A similar event has now occurred in Ferny Creek, in an area near the source of the much-loved creek.
The creek begins in Olinda and flows up through Bayswater and Wantirna, before heading towards Ferntree Gully and the Knox region.
First Friends of Dandenong Creek vice-president, Anthony Bigelow, said the foam showed that various unknown chemicals were reacting together, which he said is indicative of a deeper problem.
“The problem is not so much the foam, but it’s that we don’t know exactly what chemicals are in the creek,” he said.
“It has the potential to be a further-reaching problem, because you can see the foam is travelling. It’s in neighbouring yards and in the trees.
“It’s vitally important the EPA works with the community and council to track down the source. The reality is that until we know what’s in these chemicals, we won’t know what this will mean for the fish and nearby wildlife.”
Mr Bigelow said this year, already, there had been seven pollution events along the creek, one of which has resulted in the mass deaths of a population of eels.
He said this is significant because eels are traditionally a highly resilient, dynamic species; yet they couldn’t escape from the contaminants.
Mr Bigelow said much of the focus is on an industrial state in Bayswater North, although the pollution events had emerged at various locations along the creek.
Meanwhile, the united effort from the EPA and Melbourne Water comes just weeks after former Yarra Ranges Shire councillor and Member for Eastern Metropolitan Region, Samantha Dann, called for action from the EPA.
Ms Dunn had said the incidents were “increasing in frequency” and found it “infuriating that the citizens of Bayswater and surrounds are left to investigate the illegal dumping of chemicals”.
Now, the EPA has said they are committed to finding the source, or sources, of the chemicals.
The EPA, on Wednesday 23 May, has said it is taking an “unusual step” of advertising for community help to solve the mystery behind the chemical dumps, in particular the widely publicised event on Saturday 19 May.
EPA Executive Director Regional Services Directorate, Damian Wells, said the campaign will ask the local community if they have seen or suspect businesses or individuals being involved.
“The community, including workers in industrial precincts, are our best eyes and ears, and any new information could go a long way to finding the perpetrator,” he said.
“The number of businesses potentially involved in such an industrialised area (and) the fact that this appears to be a deliberate act and one conducted under cover of darkness, adds to the difficulty of getting a swift result.”
EPA is urging community members to report suspected pollution to the EPA on 1300 EPA VIC (1300 372 842) or at www.epa.vic.gov.au.
