Yarra River, upstream of Sugarloaf Reservoir, contaminated with pesticides

[Another story you won't hear from the corporate media in this city]. Friends of the Earth today expressed alarm at the widespread pollution of the Yarra River, upstream of Sugarloaf Reservoir with agricultural pesticides.

A recently published report 'Effects of Pesticides Monitored with Three Sampling Methods in 24 Sites on Macroinvertebrates and Microoganisms' in Environmental Science and Technology has revealed detections of over 50 agricultural pesticides in surface water and sediment in the Upper Yarra Catchment. The study was conducted by RMIT, University of Melbourne, Department of Primary Industries and Melbourne Water and relied on testing carried out between September 2008 and March 2009. The report concluded that 'current-use insecticides and fungicides can affect macroinvertebrate communities and monitoring of sediment of continuous water sampling is needed to detect these effects'.

Spokesperson for Friends of the Earth Anthony Amis, said “FoE supports the need for ongoing water sampling in the Yarra catchment and other Victorian streams. This study is perhaps the most thorough investigation of water quality and agricultural pesticides ever conducted in Australia. The organisations carrying out the study must be encouraged and funded to do further studies”.

Mr Amis added, “However the results could also reveal that the upper Yarra catchment is argueably the most polluted waterway in terms of agricultural pesticides in Australia. This is a major concern because the waterway is also a drinking water source for over 1.5 million Melbournians in the northern and western suburbs. According to our research, no other Australian study has detected as many pesticides in a water supply as this study has and at least half of the pesticides detected could be described as being amongst 'Australia's most dangerous pesticides*'”.

“It is also shocking to learn that no studies looking at pesticide contamination have been conducted in the Upper Yarra since the early eighties, which also coincided with the commissioning of Sugarloaf Reservoir. Essentially there is a 30 year gap of information. Noone knows what was coming down the river during that time period. It is even more concerning given the fact that the treatment process used at Sugarloaf was never designed to filter out pesticide residues and many of the pesticides found in the recently published study could be suspected endocrine disruptors, potential reproductive toxins and/or linked with cancer.”

In terms of ecological concern, the detection of Simazine and Chlorpyrifos appear to be of concern in terms of breaching State Environment Protection Policy. “SEPP's are supposedly monitored by the EPA, yet no studies have been carried out by the EPA into pesticides in the Upper Yarra since the early 1980's. Why isn't the EPA detecting the source of the pollutants in the Yarra? The SEPP's are also hopelessly out of date in regards to pesticides, with approximately 50 of the pesticides detected in the new study, not even listed under the ANZECC Guidelines, which the SEPP's are reliant on for determining ecological protection levels” Mr Amis said.

In terms of human health and the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG), the pesticides of most concern appear to be SIMAZINE, DDT, Dieldrin, Fipronil, Pirimicarb and Methiocarb. It is interesting to note that the organochlorines DDT and Dieldrin were effectively banned in 1990 and 1988 respectively, yet are still being detected in surface flows and sediment twenty years after their use was curtailed. (In early 1988 a number of farms in the Gembrook region were quarantined because of unacceptably high levels of Dieldrin).

Mr Amis added “Water authorities are supposed to find out the source of pollution, if detected above guideline limits in water supplies. In this instance the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines would recommend that Melbourne Water find the source of pollution for Simazine, Dieldrin and Propargite all of which were detected above guideline limits. However 37 of the detected substances do not have a guideline limit under the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines and 34 do not have any limit under the draft updated Australian DrinkingWater Guidelines to be published in 2011, so what is the Authority supposed to do in regards to these chemicals? A massive education campaign amongst farmers is required in the region, so that these pesticides do not continue to contaminate Melbourne's potential drinking water” Mr Amis added. “This should be a State Government priority. Water seeking pesticides should also be banned from domestic water supplies and many also deregistered by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority”.

It is also worthwhile noting that the DPI knew about these results since late 2009. It would be interesting to see what action the DPI has undertaken to reduce the pesticide loads entering the Yarra River since that date. DPI has responsibility for Control of Use regulations in Victoria, it is Friends of the Earth's contention that any pollution of waterways is inexcusable, so why does the problem continue.

“A landuse study by Friends of the Earth in 2006 revealed over 8000 hectares of intensively managed agricultural land in the Upper Yarra, including vineyards, orchards, berry farms, nurseries/cut flows and cropping. This landuse the major risk factor to potential pesticide pollution of the drinking water to almost a third of the Melbourne population. Our concerns raised at that time have been vindicated by the results of this new study” Mr Amis concluded.

Pesticides of Key concern in the Yarra Catchment include:

Fipronil: Insecticide used in vegetables and vineyards.
Pirimicarb: Insecticide used in Grazing, Nurseries/Cut Flowers, Stone Fruit/Pome Fruit, Vegetables
Methiocarb: Insecticide/Miticide used in Nurseries/Cut Flowers, Vegetables, Vineyards
Simazine: Herbicide used in Cropping, Grazing, Nurseries/Cut Flowers, Stone Fruit/Pome Fruit, Vegetables, Vineyards.
Propargite: Insecticide used in Nurseries/Cut Flowers, Stone Fruit/Pome Fruit, Vegetables
Chlorpyrifos: Insecticide used in Cropping, Grazing, Nurseries/Cut Flowers, Stone Fruit/Pome Fruit, Vegetables, Vineyards, Berries

*'A list of the most dangerous pesticides registered in Australia' compiled by National Toxics Network and WWF in July 2010. http://wwf.org.au/publications/alistofaustraliasmostdangerouspesticides....

Further information:
Anthony Amis
9419 8700 ext 11
anthonyamis@hotmail.com