00:02Launceston's Cataract Gorge is a popular swimming spot.
00:07But Environment Tasmania says more than 27 million litres of improperly treated sewage
00:13was released into the river just upstream in the 2024-25 financial year.
00:19This is a real risk to human health and I think anyone who's swimming in this kind of wastewater should
00:25be concerned.
00:26It's compiled records showing more than half a billion litres of untreated or partially treated effluent
00:33was released from Tasmania's sewage treatment plants that year during bypass events
00:38designed to protect infrastructure during heavy rainfall.
00:42It's a big number, half a billion litres, that's a lot of untreated wastewater.
00:49The big question is where did that happen and how well is it flushed?
00:54Taswater says most of it still receives some level of treatment.
00:59Ninety per cent of its sewage treatment plants fall short of environmental standards.
01:05Last year Taswater attempted to raise fees and charges by 8.8 per cent each year for four years,
01:12partly to fund investment into its sewage infrastructure.
01:15But the regulator knocked it back, instead allowing average annual increases of up to 5.7 per cent for the
01:22next four years.
01:23Taswater has deferred some works into the future, but $1.2 billion is still a significant investment into our infrastructure.
01:32One of its first priorities is the Prospect Vale sewage treatment plant upstream of Cataract Gorge,
01:38but upgrades won't be finished until 2028.
01:41In the meantime, Environment Tasmania wants real-time alerts sent out when a bypass happens.
01:47So people can make informed decisions about whether they swim that day or not.
01:51A Tasmanian Government spokesperson says the EPA may notify the Department of Health of significant sewage spill events,
01:59where there is a potential risk to public health.
02:02Let's talk about that.
02:02The EPA must have gone to land all that.
02:02The EPA should be beaten up, but they are one of the most common specifics.
02:03So people can do those in the previous three years.
02:03That's a good idea of your work.
02:04So people can do that in the past several years and in the past several years.
02:04They have gone to the right.
02:04Their a target on the right side of the left,
02:05They have to adopt the Max of thelause.
02:05They have to the system to represent the laws of government.
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