Coastcare Issues

Waste water and stormwater pollution

Did you know that…

  • Australia’s sewage system discharges 10,000 tonnes of phosphorous and 100,000 tonnes of nitrogen into our marine and estuarine waters annually.
  • Australia’s sewage outfalls pour more than 3 billion litres of sewage effluent into our oceans and estuaries every day.
  • Every second stormwater pipe have in the vicinity of the pipe discharge, the most common litter types found were plastic bags, cigarette butts and food wrappers.

Wastewater is a combination of domestic, industrial and agricultural waste, including stormwater. Unfortunately, most of Australia’s wastewater ends up in our waterways and oceans.

Wastewater enters our waterways and oceans from three main sources:

  • offshore and shoreline sewage outfalls
  • industrial wastewater drains such as those used for power station cooling waters
  • run off and stormwater drains and pipes.

Wastewater can contain many harmful ingredients. Domestic sewage may contain high levels of nutrients causing algae blooms, disease-causing micro-organisms; agricultural runoff can contain pesticides, herbicides, high nutrient loads causing algae blooms and industrial effluent containing chemicals and trace metals.

What can I do to help?

  • Join a Coastcare group and assist in a water quality monitoring project. If one does not exist in your area, help your local community form one.
  • Just about anything you toss away on the street or gutter can end up in the nearest stormwater drain or stream, which eventually ends up in the ocean. The litter that builds up in our drains and gutters is flushed directly into the ocean during rain and this pollution is entering our waterways completely untreated.
  • To keep our oceans clean you can start by not littering, whether you are at home, driving in the car, at the beach or on a boat.
  • Don’t grease and oil change or wash your car on the road or driveway because the oils and detergents end up untreated in the stormwater system, and eventually in the ocean.
  • Try to reduce the amount of fertilisers you use on the garden.
  • Use no-phosphate washing powder.
  • Don’t put food scraps, oil or milk down the sink - use a worm farm or compost bin instead for food scraps.