Health
Effect from outfalls
In 2007 the National Health Medical Research Council (NHMRC) commenced a review of National standards for water quality in recreational waters. These standards set limits for various biotic and abiotic parameters for water quality and swimmer and recreational safety. On 18th March 2008 the revised guidelines were released, following endorsement by the Chief Executive Officer of the NHMRC on recommendations from Council.
Across Australia management of risk in marine waters is governed by a complicated structure of international guidelines, legislation, State and Federal guidelines, associated draft guidelines, and licences granted by varying State government departments. As a result, for each State there are varying standards of water quality and an independent system of monitoring to ensure recreational safety.
It is in this climate that the Clean Ocean Foundation commissioned this report into the status of bacterial water quality standards for recreational waters in Australia. The following recommendations were made:
UPDATING STANDARDS - The State Environment Protection Policy 2003 (Waters of Victoria) should be updated to meet world and national standards;
SHORT TERM ALERT SYSTEM - Victoria desperately requires short term beach advisory system to protect beneficial users from pollution from wastewater; currently notification has a delay of between 10 and 360 days - recreational users should be notified on the day a high result is discovered.
COAG Cooperative response is required to match State and National standards;
Local and State bodies must take steps to increase the speed and accuracy of programs used to determine and notify the public of levels of risk from disease causing microorganisms in marine and coastal waters;
ELECTRONIC SIGNS - Automatically display risk to beach users according to computer model (using plant treatment, flow, weather data and previous results);
HIGH TECH TESTING Technology s available now which would make results available on the day, not 1 week later;
ENFORCEMENT OF GUIDELINES - Beach closure when test results breach an agreed limit;
IMMEDIATE ASSESSMENT Assessment must be based on short and long term frameworks; with a requirement for public notification and immediate investigation where single test results breach an established limit (this limit would be higher than the long term assessment limits used);
SIGNAGE Currently inadequate signage to exists to allow the public to make informed choices before entering contaminated water - priority signage should to be given to outfalls such as Lorne that have zero signage;
MAPPING - Information is not available on most outfall locations - All outfalls should be included in all Government Land Channel Mapping, Melways, Parks Maps, GIS and GPS Datasets, etc.
Click here for the complete report > Assessment of Microbial Water Quality Standards in Victoria (PDF)
History
In every outfall around Australia the Foundation has been alerted to cases of people suffering adverse health effects. Common ailments are ear, nose and throat infections and gastric complaints.
Clean Ocean Foundation is compiling a Medical Database of adverse health effects suffered by beach users of Gunnamatta. This is being done in conjunction with Peninsula Health Professionals.
IF YOU HAVE EVER SUFFERED AN ILLNESS AFTER SWIMMING AT A BEACH WITHIN 20KM OF AN OUTFALL, PLEASE COMPLETE A MEDICAL RESPONSE FORM AND RETURN IT TO CLEAN OCEAN FOUNDATION.
The peak user group of the Gunnamatta area are surfers and many choose not to surf the area any more due to the poor conditions. On days of south-westerly winds it is well known among surfers that this is the time to stay away from Gunnamatta as ear, nose and throat infections are evident after a surf.
A health study was performed by Monash University to assess published literature to determine if there was evidence indicating that swimming at beaches contaminated by effluent caused more disease than swimming at beaches not contaminated by effluent.
They assessed whether there was sufficient information form these studies to determine if swimmers at Gunnamatta Beach were at more risk of disease than swimmers elsewhere.
The available water quality data (Escherichia coli counts) was not sufficient to draw any conclusions. An expanded water sampling programme was initiated to test for Total Coliforms (A group of bacteria which live within the bowels of larger organisms. Total coliforms are not necessarily dangerous themselves, but are indicators of the possibility of water contamination. The genera typically found in environmental samples that are positive for total coliforms are Klebsiella, Citrobacter, Enterobacter, Serratia, Hafnia, and other members of the Enterobacteriaceae) and enterococci (Common infections arising from enterococci are infections of the urinary tract, followed by surgical wound infections and bacteremia. Enterococci present a therapeutic challenge because of their resistance to a vast array of antimicrobial drugs Barbara E. Murray, M.D. University of Texas Houston-Medical School, Houston, Texas, USA).
Levels of enterococci as part of this study were found to breach draft World Health Organisation guidelines for Recreational Waters.
Surf lifesavers from the Gunnamatta Surf Lifesaving Club were commissioned to take the water samples and were mostly taken from behind the surf break. Surfers are immersed mostly in the surf zone, closer in to shore.
"Evaluation of the published literature shows that despite the limitations of some studies, it can be concluded that risks of illness are higher for swimming in water with substantial sewage effluent pollution than for swimming in water with little or no sewage effluent pollution". (Fairley and Sinclair 1999)
"Comparison of bacterial indicator levels for Gunnamatta Beach with those in published studies showed that the water quality at Gunnamatta was generally similar to or better than the "clean" beaches in most published studies. Therefore it is very unlikely that swimmers at Gunnamatta Beach would be at increased risk of illness due to faecal microorganisms in the treated effluent being discharged there, compared to swimmers at other ocean beaches". (Fairley and Sinclair 1999)
Melbourne Water use this conclusion to allay fears of contracting illness from Gunnamatta and Clean Ocean Foundation does not accept this.
The beaches used to compare Gunnamatta with are not Mornington Peninsula Beaches. In Australia we expect to have the full use of a beach without risk of illness.
Bacteria and viruses, such as meningitis and hepatitis are able to survive secondary treatment processes of effluent as well as pathogenic microorganisms that may be contained in the 29 million litres of Trade Waste that is discharged to Gunnamatta daily.
The tests performed by this Health Study do not provide sufficient guarantees that the water is safe for swimming.
Clean Ocean Foundation acknowledges the difficulty is conducting a health study as people visit other areas and it is possible that illness was contracted at another location
.but so many reports of adverse health effects from one area and still no acknowledgement of a health issue by Melbourne Water????
Adequate signage does not exist at Gunnamatta Beach to warn people of the risk of swimming at a beach contaminated by effluent that has passed only through a secondary treatment process.
Melbourne Water claim that no adverse health effects have been "proved" therefore signs can't be placed warning of health effects.
The testing protocol to measure the health of the water by using escherichia coli is inadequate and this is acknowledged by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia. The water tests may indicate low e-coli levels, however if the presence of other bacteria and viruses aren't tested, the safety of beach users cannot be guaranteed.
Monash University is undertaking another health study, commissioned by Melbourne Water. Clean Ocean Foundation eagerly await the results of this study. Melbourne Water has a responsibility to take all precautions and assess all available data on the presence of bacteria and viruses that survive the secondary treatment process and ensure all measures are taken to reduce the risk to public health and ingestion of contaminants into the food chain.
This study is now complete and again the reference point for comparison are beaches in the UK. Comparing worst case situations as in the UK, the studies have no credibility as far as Clean Ocean Foundation is concerned.
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