Stench scare: ‘Rotten egg' mystery grips coast, and it's not sewers
Local water authorities along the coast have been bombarded with complaints over a putrid 'rotten egg' stench filling the air in the depths of Australia's winter, but investigators have found it's not any sewer pipes to blame as residents had expected.
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Regional water utility firm Unitywater was among those hit with a flood of calls over gag-inducing odours that many blamed on a wastewater disaster brewing underground.
Locals up and down the coast have long noticed 'that smell in the evenings at this time of year', with one saying 'my family always said it was 'the swamp' as we grew up near the Boondall wetlands. But as I branch out from the northside I start to realise the smell is everywhere.'
But after digging into the source of the stench, experts dropped a bombshell thankful that it's not their pipes at all but good ole Mother Nature at work – and the bad news for nostrils is there's nothing that can be done to stop it.
Unitywater executive manager Rhett Duncan gave the wild explainer to its 800,000 customers along the Sunshine Coast to Noosa stretch which contain some of the most expensive real estate in Queensland.
What's happening is 'when mangroves drop their seeds, bacteria helps breakdown the organic matter, producing a sulphur reaction, which creates sulphide gas and the associated odour', Mr Duncan said.
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The odour is most common from May to November, thanks to cooler temperatures that trap the gas closer to the ground – and your nostrils regardless of which part of the country you're in.
'It's often described as a rotten egg smell and is most common between May and November, as cooler conditions disperse less sulphide gas and so it's more concentrated. This can be mistaken for wastewater odour,' Mr Duncan said.
The water authority received hundreds of odour reports which were given priority status for investigation to ensure there were no problems in the wastewater network.
'We take these reports seriously and we understand odour can be a nuisance for the local community. We encourage residents who notice an odour to consider if it may in fact be coming from a nearby swamp, wetland or river.'
Mr Duncan said residents should be able to detect if odour was caused by mangroves by considering how close they were to mangroves, the time of year, wind, seasonal changes in rainfall and temperature.
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One visitor came straight out with it asking, 'why is Port Douglas stinky? I have noticed (mostly at night) a smelly stench wafting in the air. Had anyone noticed this before? Even better, does anyone know why Port Douglas seems to be so smelly? #farts'.
There too, locals know what to watch for: 'Full moon, high tides of 3.2m at 9.30pm pushing the mangrove/inlet water up into the storm water drains'.
A Queensland resident explained 'if your storm water culverts connect directly to a tidal creek or river, then on the turn of the tides (generally incoming tides) the waves push the mangrove-y swampy air up the pipes and out the grates. It happens here in the city. Mind you, it doesn't have to be tidal, but if the pipe is exposed the prevailing winds can do the same thing.'
Most coastal Aussies have learned to live with the discomfort faced by their nostrils, which is only likely to get worse as Christmas nears: 'It's the time of year man, and we all know it yet we never speak of it. When it gets humid and wiping turns into a one handed paper-machete exercise, so we just give up and deal with the stink.'
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Mother Nature and her mangroves are a protected species in Australia, authorities warn.
'While it can be a nuisance, in Queensland, all mangroves are protected and play an important role in stabilising riverbanks and channels,' Mr Duncan said.
'They also provide important habitat and food sources for local animals, including various species of waterbirds, fish and bees.'
Residents have no other choice but to invent olfactory coping strategies or learn to love the stench.
'There's nothing swampy about it,' another coastal local said. 'To me it smells like Christmas is on the way. Like summer is on the horizon. Of a spring evening in the 1990s, Christmas beetles buzzing past, sunset spent with friends in the park.'
Sometimes, no matter how expensive your home is, Mother Nature just chooses to stink up the place.
How to spot a mangrove stink:
-️ You live near swamps, wetlands or rivers
-️ It's cold or recently rained
-️ The wind is blowing your way
-️ The smell worsens between May and November
What you can do about it:
– Close your windows
– Wear a buff with a drop of your favourite scent
– Nothing, sometimes nature just stinks.
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