Sewage leak stinks

By Lachlan Ellis

A Ballan resident has called for urgent action on a septic spill, asking for the health hazard to be cleaned up as soon as possible.

A local who asked to remain anonymous contacted the Moorabool News about the spill last month, and said despite contacting Moorabool Shire Council and the EPA, he hadn’t seen anyone out assessing the site.

The resident said he witnessed contractors Goldblade Civil Solutions break open a septic tank at a vacant home and spread sewerage from it in a backyard on Spencer Road, which he took photos of and sent to Council on Monday 19 June.

“In this whole duration since I reported it, which was the day it happened, no Council officer has been out here to inspect it to affirm all the pictures I took…I rang the Senior Environmental Officer at Council, and she said they were waiting for the EPA to get back to them on what to do,” the resident said.

“That shouldn’t be the case…they should have their own procedures in place for stuff like this. In the meantime, all the rain we’ve had and the sun, all it’s done is it’s leached and pushed all the stuff into the ground even further. I think Council are going to do nothing about it, to be honest.

“I know we’re a country area, but when it comes to something like this, it’s something time-sensitive that needs to be dealt with quite swiftly.”

But Council and the contractor say they’re hard at work assessing and dealing with the spillage.

“Council, the EPA, and the contractor are working closely together to undertake further testing to understand the impact of the issue, which will determine what action to take. No infringement notice has been issued to date as the contractor is actively and constructively working with Council and the EPA to rectify the situation and ensure a satisfactory outcome,” Council’s Acting CEO, Caroline Buisson, told the Moorabool News.

Goldblade Civil Solutions Director Ross Morris said they take complaints of any nature seriously.

“The safety of our staff, community and the environment are our utmost concern,” Mr Morris added.

“If there was any accident or incident on our worksite we will investigate and work with any relevant authority to have it rectified.”