More than 1100 people are calling for the removal of a sewage overflow pipe that releases into the ocean off a popular beach.
A petition, started by Moffat Beach local Emma Johnson, was submitted to Sunshine Coast Council at its ordinary meeting last week in a bid to shut down the infrastructure.
The pipe was decommissioned in 2007 but Sunshine Coast News reported in April that it was still being used to provide emergency relief to the wastewater network in extreme weather events.
Petitioners cited health and safety risks and called for the region’s water authority Unitywater to stop using the pipe and to remove it.
They also requested an independent investigation into the decision-making process that allowed its use.
“The discharge of sewage into our ocean has alarmed and outraged the community,” it stated.
“It poses serious public health risks for swimmers, surfers and dogs, and causes direct harm to marine life.”
Unitywater owns and operates the buried pipe that has an outfall point into the ocean about 180m off Moffat Beach.
Executive manager customer delivery Rhett Duncan said it was rarely used and the discharge was “highly diluted”. He said the outfall was required to avoid overflow from maintenance holes near homes and businesses.
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But Ms Johnson was worried about its potential impacts.
“I started the petition out of concern for the health and wellbeing of our community,” she said.
“Moffat Beach is used daily. People have a right to know what they’re being exposed to.
“I’m also very concerned about the environmental impact on the headland and marine ecosystem.”
The petition, which started in April, has more than 1110 signatures. Ms Johnson gave it to local councillor Terry Landsberg, who presented it to the council on June 19.
“What we’re hoping for is action: a full stop to future discharges, proper removal of the pipe and a clear explanation of how this was allowed to happen,” she said.
“We’d really welcome council’s support in helping the community get clear information from Unitywater and in making sure future decisions around this pipe are open and transparent.
“When untreated sewage is released into the ocean, even if it’s during a storm, the community deserves to know. Our goal is to work together to ensure that kind of situation is properly managed and communicated in the future.”
Cr Landsberg only discovered the pipe was still being used for overflow events last year, when he asked Unitywater to remove the pipe and the ageing infrastructure that protected it at the headland.
In March he wrote a letter to Unitywater expressing the community’s “strong sentiment” about the outfall pipe.
He said there were concerns about sewage being released into the ocean, visual amenity and the rocky outcrop covering the pipe affecting wave action at the popular surfing spot.
“The practice of releasing any amount of sewage into the ocean is not supported by the community,” he said in the letter.
“We believe that Moffat Beach headland should be returned to its natural state to preserve its natural aesthetics and minimize environmental impacts, including those on recreational activities such as surfing.”
But he said Unitywater told him the pipe was necessary.
“I am disappointed that we have not received a positive response from Unitywater to remove the pipe,” he told SCN.
“All I can look at now is to build a groundswell of community support to get rid of it.
“Hopefully, someone will sit up and take notice of the petition lodged.
“We owe that to our community, to return the surf break back to its natural state and protect our ocean’s environment.”
Meanwhile, Mr Duncan said the outfall pipe played a crucial role and that wastewater was “highly diluted” before it entered the ocean.
“This overflow point was constructed in the 1960s and Unitywater inherited it from council in 2011 as a wet weather overflow point,” he said.
“It operates in accordance with our environmental authority to provide emergency relief to the wastewater network in rare, extreme weather events.
“When this occurs, any wastewater within our network is highly diluted and then further diluted and rapidly dispersed by the enormous volumes of stormwater entering the ocean through natural watercourses and stormwater channels.”
He said it was only required on rare occasions.
“This overflow point has only been used once in the last two years: on January 30, 2024, during an extreme wet weather event where between 200mm and 260mm of rain fell within a couple of hours and caused flash flooding across Caloundra,” he said.
He said the pipe was necessary to avoid sewage spills elsewhere in the region.
“Without the emergency overflow point there is the potential for wastewater to overflow from maintenance holes at other areas of the network where it would impact homes and businesses during extreme weather,” he said.
SCN asked the council what it would do in relation to the overflow pipe. Council referred SCN to Unitywater.
The state MP for Caloundra, Kendall Morton, was contacted for comment but she was largely unavailable due to parliamentary sittings this week.
