Recovery update
Published on 19 October 2018
EPA, Melbourne Water and Maribyrnong City Council continue to work closely together in the implementation of the recovery plan for Stony Creek and surrounding areas.
Melbourne Water has removed the majority of the black sludge coating the banks of Stony Creek within Cruickshank Park. They have been going over some areas that were initially missed with the high pressure washer.
The focus this week is removal of black sludge along the creek bank between Paramount Road and Geelong Road. These works are progressing well as methods are refined. Most of the removal is currently been done using hand tools which allows removal of the black sludge without damaging the creek banks.
EPA has been conducting sediment sampling this week at various points in Stony Creek including the backwash area, to help inform the clean-up works. Working closely with Melbourne Water, the results from the latest round of sediment testing will determine the best approaches for the remaining clean-up activities.
Rain has caused damage to hay bales and some of the booms have been displaced. Over the next few days, these will be replaced and eduction of any trapped contaminants will occur at the same time.
EPA officers continue to inspected the factory site on a daily basis to monitor compliance with notices and to ensure environmental risks are being appropriately managed. They will continue to work closely with site owner, tenant, specialist contractors, and other agencies with the intent of ensuring that wastes and environmental impacts at the site of the fire are properly assessed and managed.
Water quality monitoring will continue for several months as recovery progresses; a further round of water sampling in Stony Creek is scheduled for next week.
Next week, Melbourne Water will be doing follow up inspections and works to ensure that there isn’t any black sludge in the areas we have been working on to date and hay bales and booms will be inspected and replaced as required.
We will also start to plan for the commencement of black sludge removal works within Stony Creek in the Westgate Golf Course and EPA will maintain a strong presence in Cruickshank Park.