Residents propose Bondi solution for Noosa's toxic, brown Burgess Creek
Burgess Creek runs 5 kilometres from heavily commercialised Noosa Junction to the otherwise idyllic beachfront, and contains signs warning against swimming and human consumption.
The creek flows into the Pacific Ocean between Sunrise Beach and Castaways Beach, suburbs where the median house price is about $2 million, according to PropTrack, a property data website.
Signs indicate "creek water contains treated sewage effluent", but compounding issues include fertiliser run-off, historic landfill sites, erosion, invasive flora, animal excrement and household run-off.
The Queensland government has allocated $100,000 towards a Burgess Creek catchment management plan (CMP), to be developed with Noosa Shire Council before the end of 2026.
"There are legacy issues and points where pollutants are entering the waterway," said Kim Rawlings, Noosa Council's director of strategy and environment.
Sunrise Beach resident Matthew Hoffman purchased a property fronting the northern side of Burgess Creek in 2005 after relocating from Sydney's eastern suburbs.
"It's a good spot and I wouldn't move [but] it's basically become a wasteland," Mr Hoffman said.
"It's full of weed and, with all the building that's gone up behind us and towards the junction, we're getting a tonne of runoff.
"The population has increased so much in this area."
Mr Hoffman said concerns about the cleanliness of the creek, erosion to the banks near busy road David Low Way, and the safety of beachgoers prompted him to think of solutions.
He proposed investigating deep ocean outfalls, which discharge treated effluent kilometres out to sea.
Similar outfalls became operational along the Sydney coastline at Bondi, Malabar and North Head in the early 1990s, costing more than a combined $300 million at the time.
A 2017 Deloitte report stated Sydney's deep ocean outfalls prevented 180,000 sick days per year and provided more than $2 billion in economic benefits since implementation.
State Environment and Tourism Minister Andrew Powell — the member for Glass House on the Sunshine Coast hinterland — said long-term funding would be considered once the catchment plan was finalised.
In 2021, action group Eastern Beaches Protection Association collected more than 1,500 signatures and petitioned the council to stop stormwater runoff from eroding and contaminating dunes and waterways.
Now, four years later, the solution still seems years away.
Noosa Boardriders president Paul Petersen said it was "an area nobody wants to go near when it rains".
Utilities company Unitywater has a sewage pump station about 200 metres before Burgess Creek meets the beach.
Unitywater said the pump sent 600 litres per minute back to a treatment plant further upstream, which also improved water flow and prevented stagnant water.
"Sometimes it can get a little smelly, but we do our best to keep things fresh with regular maintenance and specialised odour control units," the company said.
Unitywater said it was doing monthly groundwater tests in conjunction with Noosa Council and monitored its network 24/7.
In June 2025, Noosa Council and landcare groups also launched a project to remove Singapore daisy weeds from the Burgess Creek catchment.
Council described the poisoned vegetation as "confronting to see going from green to brown" but said it was necessary and handled with ecologically safe chemicals.
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