A monstrous fatberg, potentially as large as four buses, has been identified as the likely source of debris balls that clogged Sydney's beaches last year. The enormous mass of fat, oils, and grease is thought to have accumulated in a remote chamber deep within the city's sewer system, creating an "inaccessible dead zone" where maintenance teams can't reach.
The report concludes that the fatberg's formation was likely caused by the accumulation of FOG (fats, oils, and grease) on landward side of the intersection chamber, which was then captured in a quiescent zone. The sudden drop in flow followed by the sudden increase in flow drew this material into the main flow path and pushed it through the deep ocean outfall, resulting in the formation of debris balls that included human faeces.
The problem is so severe that fixing it would require shutting down the outfall – which reaches 2.3km offshore – for maintenance and diverting sewage to "cliff face discharge", which would close Sydney's beaches "for months". This approach has never been done before and is no longer considered acceptable, according to the report.
Sydney Water initially denied its sewerage system was responsible for the debris balls, stating that there had been no issues with the normal operations of the Bondi or Malabar wastewater treatment plants. However, evidence collected by Sydney Water has narrowed the origin of the debris to within the Malabar system.
The corporation plans to continue cleaning the accessible part of the bulkhead, while devising campaigns to try to dissuade Sydneysiders from putting FOG down the drain. It also estimates that up to 12,000 retailers could be operating without waste approvals in the Malabar catchment, and they might be "significant contributors to FOG loads".
The problem highlights a fundamental issue with Sydney's aging sewer system, which is not designed for modern standards. The Total Environment Centre's Jeff Angel says that the outfalls are "old school technology" and that the city needs to modernize its sewerage system, including higher levels of treatment and more recycling.
A spokesperson for the EPA said that they are working closely with Sydney Water to establish a program for the removal of built-up fats, oils, and grease from the bulkhead area at Malabar. They also confirmed that the EPA is considering licence variations by mid-February as part of Sydney Water's environment protection licence review.
The report concludes that the fatberg's formation was likely caused by the accumulation of FOG (fats, oils, and grease) on landward side of the intersection chamber, which was then captured in a quiescent zone. The sudden drop in flow followed by the sudden increase in flow drew this material into the main flow path and pushed it through the deep ocean outfall, resulting in the formation of debris balls that included human faeces.
The problem is so severe that fixing it would require shutting down the outfall – which reaches 2.3km offshore – for maintenance and diverting sewage to "cliff face discharge", which would close Sydney's beaches "for months". This approach has never been done before and is no longer considered acceptable, according to the report.
Sydney Water initially denied its sewerage system was responsible for the debris balls, stating that there had been no issues with the normal operations of the Bondi or Malabar wastewater treatment plants. However, evidence collected by Sydney Water has narrowed the origin of the debris to within the Malabar system.
The corporation plans to continue cleaning the accessible part of the bulkhead, while devising campaigns to try to dissuade Sydneysiders from putting FOG down the drain. It also estimates that up to 12,000 retailers could be operating without waste approvals in the Malabar catchment, and they might be "significant contributors to FOG loads".
The problem highlights a fundamental issue with Sydney's aging sewer system, which is not designed for modern standards. The Total Environment Centre's Jeff Angel says that the outfalls are "old school technology" and that the city needs to modernize its sewerage system, including higher levels of treatment and more recycling.
A spokesperson for the EPA said that they are working closely with Sydney Water to establish a program for the removal of built-up fats, oils, and grease from the bulkhead area at Malabar. They also confirmed that the EPA is considering licence variations by mid-February as part of Sydney Water's environment protection licence review.
. its so messed up cuz they can't even reach it to clean it out. did u no that shuting down the outfall for maintenance would close all the beaches for months?? thats a bummer 
. i think we need to upgrade our sewer system 2 modern standards ASAP 
like, who thought these old school tech outfalls were good enough? 
anywayz, lets hope sydney water can get this sorted out & ppl start takin out the trash (FOG) properly 
I mean, can you believe this fatberg thingy? Like, four buses worth of crap? It's insane! 
And the fact that it's just sitting in a chamber deep within the sewer system, all inaccessible and stuff... yeah, that's not good. 
The thought of having to shut down the outfall for maintenance is crazy too... I mean, who wants their beach closed for months? 
Not me, that's for sure. 
like sydney's sewer system is literally a MONSTER 
! i mean, who knew all that fat and grease could build up to make those huge balls of debris?! 
it's wild but also kinda sad cuz our beaches are still affected by it. idk about shutting down the outfall tho... seems like too much trouble. maybe they should just get some fancy new tech to clean it up? 
.
. and it's not just them, it's a bigger issue with sydney's aging sewer system as a whole 
. I'm not buying that they're gonna magically fix everything with some campaigns and cleaning up the accessible part of the bulkhead... nope, gotta dig deeper 
. This whole thing is a major red flag (no pun intended) about our city's aging infrastructure. It's high time for some serious upgrades 
.
But seriously, this is crazy and the problem is way bigger than just one incident. The city needs to upgrade its sewer system ASAP because this is a major health risk and it's only going to get worse if they don't do something about it.
That's insane! They need to find a way to fix this without causing so much disruption. And what's with all the retailers who might not be following proper waste disposal practices? 
It's like, guys, get on board and start taking care of our planet already!
A program to remove built-up fats, oils, and grease from the bulkhead area at Malabar sounds like a great first step. And licence variations? That's a good move too! Maybe it'll be a wake-up call for some of those retailers who are still being reckless with their waste disposal practices. 
