Kennett River toilets debacle continues

THE public toilets at Kennett River continue to be a contentious matter for their operators and a major inconvenience to the public.

In December 2018, a temporary toilet block was installed in Kennett River to meet the demand caused by increased visitation. This was a joint decision made by the Colac Otway Shire and the Otway Coast Committee (OCC), the latter of which manages the land the temporary toilets were placed upon.

In October 2019, an influx of tourists and a lack of maintenance led the toilets to overflow, expelling raw sewerage into the car park. According to Kennett River Association president Corrina Dichiera, this was not an isolated incident but had happened at least 10 times before.

In April this year, the running costs of the toilet stopped being paid, and the toilet block has stayed closed since.

Colac Otway chief executive officer Peter Brown said according to the agreement between the two parties, the running costs were the responsibility of the OCC.

“Colac Otway Shire Council and OCC had an agreement that Council would pay for the hire of a temporary toilet and OCC would pay for the pumping of the tank.

“Council chose to purchase and install a temporary toilet block as a more cost-effective measure and selected a water-efficient system which would reduce the amount of water used and pumping required by OCC.

“OCC has advised that it will no longer pay for pumping despite the facility being on OCC-managed land and primarily providing a service to coastal visitors, not residents and ratepayers.”

Mr Brown also believed it would be a disservice to the community to use their rates to pay for the pumping of the tank.

“The OCC is an agency of the state government and the toilet pumping should be the responsibility of the state government, not a cost to residents and ratepayers.

“Council is aware of the community’s concerns, is in regular contact with the Kennett River Association and will continue strongly advocating on behalf of the community, calling for the state government to meet the OCC’s obligations to maintain public facilities on Crown land.”

The Surf Coast Times contacted OCC about the matter and were told it was a topic to discuss with the shire.

Ms Dichiera said locals were desperate for a resolution to be found.

“The community of Kennett River is fed up with finding human excrement and toilet paper on the beach, and we cannot understand why the Otway Coast Committee, who is responsible for both the foreshore and the land where the toilet block is located, will not agree to contribute to a temporary public toilet solution until the new toilet block is constructed.”