On the 5th of May locals in North Coburg were alarmed to find Edgars Creek running bright pink, with some reports of a pungent chemical smell. Melbourne Water and EPA Victoria were called in immediately to contain and investigate the pollution. Attending the scene on the 6th and again on the 9th, officers placed ‘boom’ containment devices around the area most heavily polluted. The booms were intended to remain for a few days, however heavy rains rapidly flushed out the creek and the colour returned to normal shortly thereafter.
EPA Victoria has since released a statement to assure locals the pollutant discovered was a dye, most likely used for clothing and non-toxic at the levels present in the water. It was unclear from their statements however, if these measurements reflected the water pollution levels before or after the rain, and at all points in the creek. The Meddler contacted Melbourne Water to obtain a full water quality report but at the time of printing have not yet received the documentation. When contacted by the Meddler, EPA Victoria were also unable to provide any further comment given the potential for future litigation, but have confirmed that through drain chasing processes, the business responsible for the spill have been identified and contacted.
For some locals this statement of assurance was not sufficient, with many online calling for a stronger response from EPA Victoria. Another strikingly similar incident occurred in the nearby Stony Creek back in September 2019 when a large bottle of red dye was blown over and spilled into the water system. In this case, the business responsible was identified to the public as Marchem Australasia – a chemical importer and distributor. As such, some are pushing for EPA Victoria to release more information regarding the recent Edgars Creek incident, but it looks like at least for now, they’ll need to wait.
By Thyra Mclellan
The Coburg Meddler 