12 June 2020
Southern Downs Regional Council continues to investigate and monitor water quality following last week’s effluent overflow into the Condamine River and has installed new measures at the Warwick Sewage Treatment Plant to avoid the recurrence of similar incidents.
A Council spokesperson said they were doing everything possible to confirm the cause of the incident, minimise the impact of the overflow and prevent similar incidents after an operational malfunction at the plant caused partially treated water to spill into the river.
“Council is talking with the Department of Environment and Science and independent contractors and has implemented new prevention measures and alarms at the plant,” the spokesperson said.
“The Department has been fully briefed about the incident and visited the site this week to review the operations and conduct a drone survey.
“Preventative measures have been put in place to divert stormwater from the erosion site and we have also installed a new high level alarm on the equipment that overflowed.
“Geotechnical engineers have reviewed the site and recommend that we continue to regularly monitor the site until further investigation and rehabilitation work can be undertaken.
“Water quality results are as expected and show higher levels of E.coli and suspended solids in the contained section of the river. The nutrient levels are relatively low as is also expected for secondary treated effluent.
“Council will continue to monitor the water quality in the river at the site and will undertake any remedial actions required by the Department.”
Residents are advised to avoid accessing or using the waterway near the Warwick Sewerage Treatment Plant and to avoid fishing or consuming fish caught near the spill site.
Any residents or businesses with concerns regarding the overflow can contact the Customer Service Centre on 1300 697 372.
Council will continue to keep the community informed as more updates become available.