Wet wipes flushed down household toilets have clogged a sewer at Chirnside Park, causing a 700,000 litre spill and costing Yarra Valley Water over $100,000 in court.
Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) Executive Director Damian Wells says EPA prosecuted Yarra Valley Water over the spill in the Ringwood Magistrates' Court.
"The Court did not convict Yarra Valley Water, but ordered the organisation to spend $80,000 on local conservation projects and $20,000 on informing the public that they should not put wet wipes into the sewerage system, even if the packaging says they are flushable," Mr Wells said.
The spill occurred when a blockage that consisted largely of discarded wet wipes caused sewage to escape through an emergency overflow system that normally only operates during major storms.
The spill sent more than 700,000 litres of sewage and liquid industrial waste onto land in Switchback Road, then into the Paynes Road Drain and the Chirnside Park Drain.
"Fortunately, the spill did not reach the Yarra River," Mr Wells said.
The leaked material included raw sewage and industrial waste from nearby small industrial sites.
EPA officers found large amounts of wet wipe material, litter and tissue caught up in vegetation in the drains, and water testing showed significantly raised levels of E.coli bacteria, ammonia and the nutrients phosphorous and nitrogen, as well as lowered levels of dissolved oxygen.
Those readings show the contaminated water was potentially poisonous to animals, birds, fish and other aquatic life, as well as causing odour.
Yarra Valley Water conducted a clean-up along the affected waterways and installed improvements to the sewer's emergency overflow system to prevent any future spills.
The Court ordered Yarra Valley Water to spend $80,000 to fund local community groups and the Yarra Ranges Council to protect and rehabilitate the remnant billabong system at Spadonis Reserve at Yering.
The conservation program is to include weed control, revegetation and protective fencing to keep out pest species.
The Court also ordered Yarra Valley Water to spend $20,000 on a publicity campaign, telling people not to flush wet wipes because they do not biodegrade and can clog the sewerage system.
In addition, the Court also ordered Yarra Valley Water to publish a public notice in the local Ringwood and Yarra Valley Leader newspaper.
"The message to the public is that wet wipes might be marked flushable, but that doesn't guarantee they won't cause pollution of the environment," Mr Wells said.
The Court also ordered Yarra Valley Water to pay EPA $5,000 in costs and publish details of the charges and decision in local media.
Members of the public can report all types of pollution by calling the EPA 24-hour hotline, on 1300 EPA VIC (1300 372 842).
