Sewage spills in Perth's south leave Bruce Lee Reserve in Beaconsfield covered in wastewater

Australia Broadcast Center

21 hours ago

Authorities say it could take days to fix a burst wastewater main that kickstarted a number of sewage spills in Perth's southern suburbs over the weekend, with residents still reeling from the stench of wastewater that inundated local parks.
The problems started when a sewage pipe burst on Friday morning in the suburbs of Hamilton Hill and Spearwood, causing wastewater to flow down a residential street, into two homes and the front yards of another four.
To stop the flow of wastewater, authorities needed to switch off the pump stations and pump the sewage away from the area.
But the diverted pressure caused a second burst in Beaconsfield on Saturday morning.
The odour was still affecting residents in Beaconsfield on Tuesday morning, when a large pool of wastewater could be seen on the soccer pitches at Bruce Lee Reserve.
Parts of South Fremantle and the Fremantle fishing boat harbour were also impacted, while the stench of human waste has lingered across the area for four days.
Karen Willis from the Water Corporation said authorities had managed to secure the area and the issue was now "under control", despite sewage still sitting in some parks.
"We're going through now seeing that wastewater starting to recede. We'll work with the local councils to ensure that we do rectify any issues that have been caused as a result of that," she told ABC Radio Perth.
A custom-made pipe to replace the one that burst in Spearwood is being fabricated and will be installed later in the week, Ms Willis said.
"We're looking at getting that reinstated certainly [within] the week," she said.
It remains unknown what caused the original burst.
"We're going to have to wait to get that section of pipe that burst back to look at that," Ms Willis said.
"It could have been a pressure spike, it could have been a number of different things that could have caused that.
"Because this was sort of an ancillary impact in the Beaconsfield area with that second burst, we'll certainly be looking along that pipeline to make sure we're aware of any other potential issues."