The Water Corporation tonight warned against recreational activities such as fishing in the polluted waters.
A pool of human excrement began to form when a sewer pipe bust in Beaconsfield on Friday.
“[I] Went out to look and you could smell it,” one resident said.
Earlier, a pipe had burst on Hamilton Road in Spearwood, causing sewage to seep into nearby waterways.
The Water Corporation was forced to turn off the pipes, causing the issue in Beaconsfield, which still hadn’t been resolved four days later.
“The repair in Spearwood is quite complex, instead of being able to weld a band around that pipeline, we’re having to pre-fabricate a new section of pipeline,” Water Corporation media and external affairs manager Dean Stacey said.
Now waste is also flowing into the Swan River from the drains on Dunkley Avenue in Applecross and Burke Drive in Alfred Cove, as well as the harbour at the Fremantle Sailing Club and onto the road on South Terrace in South Fremantle.
“We’re working really closely with our regulators at the Department of Health and the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, we’re also working very closely with local government authorities,” Stacey said.
Locals have been left frustrated.
“We’ve received a message from Water Corp saying not to go anywhere near it, try not to breathe it in and everything, which is pretty hard when it’s on your doorstep,” resident Greg Woodward said.
Stacey said it was important for the corporation to be out today to “own it and to apologise”.
“For many people this has been a really disruptive event,” he said.
While it’s fairly contained now, residents are concerned about where the sewage might spread when the rain hits tomorrow.
The Water Corporation was hoping to fix the Spearwood pipe tonight so clean-up and sanitation could begin.
