A renowned water tower by the sea has been tarnished by vandals.
The Point Cartwright Water Reservoir, which features a restored mural, was marked by graffiti in multiple places.
The 17m structure, which can be seen from miles away, was tagged last week.
Unitywater executive manager customer delivery Rhett Duncan said it was “disappointing” and a crew worked to clear the mess on Tuesday.
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The water tower is next to the soaring Point Cartwright Lighthouse, within the popular Point Cartwright Reserve near the Mooloolaba bay and harbour entrance.
The mural on it was painted by Joel Fergie, Travis Vinson and Jordon Bruce in 2016 and refreshed in 2022.
It reflects the local environment and features whales, turtles and the Richmond birdwing butterfly.
“Our Community Art Program is designed to improve the look of our larger infrastructure, which is quite often steel and concrete,” Mr Duncan said.
“Artworks generally help deter graffiti as there’s no longer a blank canvas for vandals.
“It’s disappointing when instances like this happen.
“Our art program is for the benefit of our communities to improve amenity and the appearance of our highly visible assets.
“We ask taggers to respect others’ art and not damage something that’s there for locals and visitors to enjoy.”
Mr Duncan said the scrawl was removed, while preserving the quality of the mural.
“Our facilities team successfully removed the tags from our Point Cartwright water reservoir,” he said.
“It was removed with a pressure washer and a product that corresponds with anti-graffiti sealant that was applied during the artwork’s restoration in 2022.
“Artists use an anti-graffiti sealant which protects the artwork and makes it easier to remove any graffiti,” he said.
Locals on social media vented their dismay at the incident.
“That’s disgusting,” Wendy Sutton said.
Several of them said the same tags and graffiti had appeared along Point Cartwright Drive, Lowanna Drive and Oceanic Drive, and at Kawana Island.
“It’s getting out of hand,” Marlene Goodman said.
“I see (it) daily while walking my dogs. I see people scrubbing and repainting their fences. We need police patrols at night.
“The one (fence) at beach entrance 229 was painted, then re-vandalised the next night.”
