Re the article "Meeting over sewage spill in wetlands" (Leader, September 18).
I am grateful that the St George Leader keeps a spotlight on the fouling of the Lime Kiln Bay wetlands in Oatley by raw sewage.
A a group of locals met with Sydney Water, our local member, Mark Coure MP and a representative of Georges River Council.
I am really disappointed that Sydney Water said that the issue was all about tree roots in the sewer causing overflows. It wasn't.
The truth is Sydney Water admitted there have been 5 separate overflows between July 2018 and September 2019. These happened during excavation works being conducted by Georges River Council, when a sewer pipe in the creek bed was "exposed".
I think the repeated nature of such instances is inexplicable and disgraceful in terms of environmental and human health implications. I asked for the matter be referred onto the EPA for an investigation. I also suggested that Sydney Water, the state government and the local council act together to fix the problem.
It may only get worse! The 58,000 new dwellings planned in south-west Sydney will generate a massive increase in the sewer load. It will all go into the sewer pipes that lead to the Glenfield and Warwick Farm Sewerage treatment plants then back into the pipe that heads towards Malabar to discharge into the sea. On its way it will keep dis-gorging its overload at designed sewer overflow points in Lime Kiln Bay wetlands, Myles Dunphy Reserve, Poulton Park and Carss Park.
So all those thousands of extra toilet seats in places like Appin and Campbelltown, will be the unaddressed reason why our local creeks, wetlands, and eventually the Georges River will be flooded by human faeces.
Sharyn Cullis, Secretary Georges River Environmental Alliance
