Richard Barrie was the river coordinator for the system’s seven oyster farmers until June this year and spoke on behalf of the other growers at the most recent council meeting.

He said he has personally lost around $40,000 in revenue this year alone from the two spills that occurred before and after Easter, and this most recent one which has happened in time for Christmas trading.

“On each occasion the river has been closed for a statutory 21 days and then only opened again once we have undertaken comprehensive additional testing – at our cost and effort,” he said when addressing council.

Before NSW Food Authority reopens a system for harvest, oyster flesh and water tests at a number of locations along the river, shellfish poisoning tests and algal tests all need to be passed at a cost of over $1000 each time.

The first spill was reported on March 7; sewage flowed out of a manhole on the corner of East and River St, Macksville, and consequently flooded a nearby home before leaking into the river.

“For oyster growers this meant that we were unable to supply oysters in the lead up to Easter – a major problem in what is a seasonal primary industry,” Mr Barrie said.

The second spill was reported just five days shy of the harvest reopening again, and in the exact same location.

“The second spill occurred on March 23 and so wiped out all possibilities of our supplying the after Easter market,” he said.

“At the very least it suggests that any remedy applied to the matter in the first place was inadequate and brings into question the competence with which the matter was handled by Council. My writing to the General Manager on the matter elicited the response, ‘It has been a frequent source of pollution’ and ‘Council needs to be investigating options to overcome the problem’. We have heard nothing since.”

A computer error in a new switchboard was blamed by Council staff for tripping the switch at the East St pumping station, causing the blockages which led to both overflows.

But Mr Barrie said the most recent spill was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.

For him, personally, this latest incident has meant the loss of one of his biggest and most loyal customers, who has had to turn elsewhere for a more consistent supply.

“The thing is, we accept that accidents happen. You just have to live with it. But what is most concerning is that this spill was not detected for some five days,” he said.

“It suggests that managers aren’t managing.”

Council has since said that the delay was caused by a combination of a shortage and high recent turnover of staff, and the new SCADA telemetry system not being set to detect low flow activity through the pumping stations, which is what occurred at Bellwood Creek after a blockage in one of the pipes.

Mr Barrie said the delay was particularly concerning from a public health perspective and it was only through sheer coincidence that the oyster harvest was already closed due to recent rain.

“The Wallis Lake incident* comes unhappily to mind as does the nightmare of a Kalang scenario where all oyster activity was effectively stopped for over seven years. Our reputation in either case would change from amongst the best to non-existent – and I suggest the outside world would view the Nambucca Valley likewise.”​

*In 1997, 400 people on the Central Coast fell ill with Hepatitis A after eating contaminated oysters. 

For the Nambucca’s seven remaining oyster growers, the sewage overflows are adding additional anxiety when they are currently on the verge of being awarded ‘Direct Harvest’ status by the NSW Food Authority.

Currently, oysters harvested from our river need to be “finished off” for 36 hours in a separate pool of water and under a UV filter as part of the mandated ‘depuration’ process.

“If you only have one pool, that often limits the amount of oysters you can put through each time,” Mr Barrie said.

A ‘Direct Harvest’ status would mean tighter controls and testing on the purity of the Nambucca River, but that farmers would be able to do away with the depuration process.

“In Direct Harvest we can increase to seven days per week and put more oysters through,” Mr Barrie said.

“And of course, more oysters means we would need to hire more people to help.

“But to achieve this status, we need to continue the testing regime we have been following for the past five years and for the shoreline risk assessment to become less. While reticulating sewerage on Giinagay Way to Pelican Caravan Park reduces risk, Council’s seeming lack of ability to monitor and react to problems such as Bellwood only serves to increase risk enormously.”

While Mr Barrie was able to make his points heard during the public forum at the most recent council meeting, the issue was then discussed in a ‘closed meeting’ with all media personnel and public excluded “as provided for under Section 10A(2) (g) of the Local Government Act, 1993, on the grounds that the report contains advice concerning litigation, or advice that would otherwise be privileged from production in legal proceedings on the ground of legal professional privilege”.

Mr Barrie said he was disappointed that the comment made after his address by Mayor Rhonda Hoban focused on the need for residents to stop flushing wet wipes and cooking fat down town sewerage systems.

“In terms of fat and rags, where’s the little piece of paper going out with rates notices telling people to stop doing this?” he said.

Mr Barrie has said that the “Nambucca Oyster Growers are currently taking advice on this matter”.

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