Matthew Hartley, Byron Bay
Duncan Dey is completely correct about the Belongil Estuary/Creek. Not only is it overloaded with sewage – some of it raw sewage pumped into the golf course ponds, some of it semi-treated sewage from whenever Byron Bay is full of tourists and it rains. The poor Belongil Creek catches all of the road run-off, and a lot of agricultural run-off as well.
Belongil Creek should be an asset for the community. People like to fish, it can be a healthy source of food. Unfortunately fish spawning areas, like the Belongil estuary, a major source of local seafood, are made toxic by long-term mismanagement. The wetlands are also a significant wildlife habitat, and a refuge for migratory birds.
Rather than pumping more sewage into the Belongil, it is about time the Council gave the community what it has always wanted: a forward thinking on-site conversion of human sewage into recycled fertiliser.