Stony Creek – a pathway to recovery

Early detection of pollution events can support quicker action.  

When accidents and incidents happen, what ends up in the gutter will often end up in the nearest creek, and sometimes this can have a devastating impact.  

In August 2018, Stony Creek experienced the worst pollution event in Melbourne’s waterways in nearly 30 years. An industrial fire in Somerville Road, Tottenham caused significant damage when contaminated fire water entered the creek, killing native vegetation and over 2,500 fish. Firefighting efforts were significant and the volume of fire water generated as the blaze was brought under control was substantial. Polluted run-off was found to contain a range of contaminants including hydrocarbons and oils, acetone, heavy metals and herbicides.  

The clean-up operation was extensive, requiring the removal of over 70 million litres of polluted water and 2800 cubic metres of contaminated sediment from the creek. Rocks were pressure washed, trees and vegetation were removed and the banks of the creek were scraped in order to dispose of the toxic sludge. To keep the public safe during the clean-up effort, the local community were prevented from accessing public parks along the creek.  

Walking through Cruickshank Park today, it's difficult to detect any remaining evidence of this terrible incident. Thanks to a lot of love and care from the community and the collective efforts of a coordinated agency response, the rehabilitation of Stony Creek is well and truly underway. Community groups like the Friends of Stony Creek and Friends of Cruickshank Park together with local residents, Maribyrnong City Council and Melbourne Water, have planted thousands of native trees, shrubs and grasses, and cared for them through weeding and watering. A frog pond has been built, and local wildlife is returning. However, every now and then, so does the pollution.

The catchment of Stony Creek has a lot of industrial areas that support Melbourne with many goods and services. However, industrial areas tend to have businesses that use and store a wide variety of chemicals that can impact the environment if spills occur. If chemicals are spilled or there is an accident or fire, pollution can run into underground stormwater drains and into the creek. Spills are often only noticed after they become visible in the creek and are reported. Containment efforts can only start once EPA Victoria and Melbourne Water have been notified and have travelled to the site. This time lag means that it can be difficult to contain the spill and prevent significant areas of waterway from being affected. It can also make it difficult to track where the spill came from to prevent it from happening again.  

Monash University, in collaboration with Melbourne Water, Maribyrnong City Council and EPA Victoria, have been trialling the use of real-time water quality sensors. These low-cost devices can detect changes in water quality and alert Melbourne Water and EPA Victoria. The sensors are constantly measuring water temperature, electrical conductivity and turbidity and if these measures suddenly change without obvious reason, such as recent rainfall, then there is a good chance that a pollution spill has occurred, enabling a faster response.

The results of the trial are promising and are informing more detailed monitoring of specific locations that the sensors have identify as pollution hot-spots. This will help to identify which drains, and eventually which properties, the spills might be coming from and why. Critical information such as this helps prevent further spills into Stony Creek for the protection of its ecosystem and community values.