With almost 150mm of rain falling in Dubbo to date for the month of June, volunteer members of the Inland Waterways noticed a steady thick slick of rubbish making its way down the Macquarie River, through the city’s central business district (CBD), where it was eventually forming a large foul flotilla of pollution at Devil’s Hole Reserve.
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Having cleaned the site up some 11 months previously, and removing tonnes of bottles, cans, fast-food packaging and numerous other items, the group was simply stunned to see that even more rubbish had accumulated just below the city once again.
Tracking back up stream and into the CBD, Inland Waterways volunteers, soaked to the bone in the middle of a down poor, photographed and videoed drain outlets where concentrated levels of pollution was accumulating, clearly entering the Macquarie River through the city’s storm water drainage system.
Numerous sites where careless individuals had also left litter on the river banks were also found, with rising water levels now washing the leftovers from their riverside party into the Macquarie River’s waters.
Water levels continued to rise as the rain continued to fall far and wide, eventually breaking the flotilla up and washing the garbage downstream to the city’s neighbours at Narromine, and no doubt eventually the Macquarie Marshes.
The footage outraged the public, with almost 16,000 people witnessing the pollution entering the river through a video posted to social media. Thousands of concerned citizens voiced their opinions, and agreed that action must be taken now to help protect the river from further pollution.
Volunteer members of the Inland Waterways have once again commenced talks with community groups and city infrastructure managers, to try and find a solution to the garbage crisis that seems to be unfolding every time it rains in Dubbo.
The only certainty at present seems to be that whatever is being done to manage pollution entering the Macquarie River at present, isn’t working very well at all. Rain events in Dubbo currently see masses of rubbish accumulate just below the city in the Macquarie River.
We all need to do our bit to keep the Macquarie River as clean as possible. Whether that means taking a few paces to place your rubbish in the bin, or picking up rubbish notice laying on the ground, every little bit helps.
Dubbo Catches invites readers to submit their stories and photos to: Matt Hansen c/- Redden & Hansen Real Estate, 2/27 Bultje Street or email: matt@reddenhansen
