End Of Ocean " Outfalls " !

Few now remember the days when Sydney was a city of backyard " Dunnies  ".   It was delicately referred top as " Night soil " and a brave army of night soil collectors removed the pans and replaced them with fresh ones on a weekly basis.   When the first pipes were laid the residents of this city eagerly awaited connection to the long awaited sewage system.   The era of indoor plumbing had arrived.

Banishing that unsightly structure that housed the backyard toilet raised the question of the ultimate disposal of this new piped sewage.   The ocean lapping at our shores was just too tempting.  From 1916 pipes ran offshore and we dumped it in the ocean, and that was evident for all to see.  It all depended on the wind direction and the prevailing currents, but the sea offshore was very discoloured and the onshore breeze carried a pong that was decidedly unpleasant.   Swimmers at Bondi sometimes encountered what they euphemistically referred to as " Bondi cigars ".

This despoiling of the ocean brought many protests and the first forms of alleviation were to extend the pipelines and carry the waste further out to sea.   We started to treat the waste but the volume brought management problems and any time nature delivered heavy rain the system overloaded and raw sewage was pumped directly into the sea.

Pumping our sewage into the ocean had consequences.  Where the pipes ended the sea had a distinctly brown fuzz appearance which posed significant health risks.   This mix of algae, bacteria and human waste attracted colonies of tiny stinging jellyfish - known as " hydroids " and untreated plastics, wet wipes and toilet paper began piling up on the ocean floor.   Gradually, the amount of sewage treated began to creep higher with each passing year.

Now just three outfalls for untreated sewage remain and they are situated at Vaucluse and Diamond bay.   Fortunately, this part of the coastline is rocky and unsuitable for swimming and tenders are sought to create tunnels which will see the outfalls close and the waste redirected to the expanded treatment plant at Bondi.   This $ 86 million project is expected to be completed by 2020 and that will herald the end of disposing of our sewage into the ocean.

The day is fast approaching when this city sewage will be regarded as a commercial treasure.  The treatment process is so advanced that it can be safely used as a fertilizer on grazing land, and tests prove that it makes the soil resistant to drought.   Where areas have been so treated on a test basis the green appearance in a background that is uniformly dried to a constant brown is simply startling. There is now the prospect of our sewage becoming a valuable commercial product in which supply falls short of demand.

And we will no longer be fouling the oceans which are the scene of much of our recreational activity, and are a significant  contributor to our food supply.