Red Tides:
They mean extreme pollution -
we need to stop this!
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Pollution from outfalls and agricultural waste cause red seas (algal blooms), deadly to both marine life and humans. We can’t allow this pollution of our oceans and rivers to continue. Help us stop it.
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With the support of Clean Ocean Foundation and other environmental groups we will be working to stop pollution from human activity finding its way into our rivers and oceans. The solution to this problem is out there but we need your help!
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Let's give Australian outfalls the Class A+ (or better) treatment they deserve
Recycle our water
AND
Stop Wasting Billions of Dollars!
BEWARE THE RED TIDE
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Biohazard- red tides are extremely toxic towards marine life, capable of killing fish and other aquatic animals, as well as being harmful toward humans Emergency- we are killing our oceans with our outfalls, our action is urgent Wasteful- every year we discharge enough water to fill the Sydney Harbor nearly three times! this water can be given another purpose, by neglecting this, we are pouring money down the drain- literally. This has been done in large part because we refuse to to purify and recycle our wastewater. Anger- Instead we build massive energy intensive desalination plants that pollute our oceans and mean our waste water from outfalls continues to be dumped into our oceans. Everywhere communities who want to protect their oceans are ignored and dismissed. Now another costly desalination plant is planned for near Torquay on Victoria's surf coast – it’s enough to make those who know there's a better way see red. Red Algal Blooms- Chemicals in our waste are known to cause red toxic algal blooms. Every second around Australia we dump polluted water containing these chemicals (and worse) into our oceans from outfalls. Environmentally Disastrous -this neglect of our waste has dire consequences, destruction natural resources, coastlines and ecosystems. But it doesn’t have to be that way. The Solution Our National Outfall Upgrade Strategy (NOUS) will ensure that by 2030 all outfall discharges will be treated to a minimum of Class A+, making the water safe for the environment and available for further purification to a quality suitable for all our uses. Join Clean Ocean Foundation and its supporters as we Stop the Red Tide |
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How you can help:
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Frequently Asked Questions:
- How many outfalls are there in Australia? In Australia there 194 coastal outfalls
- How much water do they discharge? Every year, Australian coastal outfalls dump enough water in our oceans to fill Sydney Harbor nearly three times
- What is the quality of the water discharged? Many of the outfalls dump poorly treated water into our oceans. The water contains pollutants include pathogens, microplastics and chemicals that are known to cause toxic red algae blooms along with other harmful impacts.
- What is a red tide? A red tide is a harmful red algal bloom which can be observed by a red discolouration of the ocean’s surface. The toxins produced by this bloom are capable of killing fish and other marine animals, and as they become airborne, can have respiratory effects on people nearby.
- How can we stop the red tide? The best way to reduce the occurrence of red tides is to upgrade water treatment plants to follow our National Outfall Strategy (NOUS) which ensures water treatment will be upgraded to a ‘Class A+’ level by 2030.
- What is Class A+ treatment? Class A+ treatment improves water quality so that it is safe for discharge into ocean outfalls, but also is suitable for non-potable use such as crop irrigation, toilet flushing and clothes washing. This is already in use in some of Australia's leading treatment plants.
- How much would these upgrades cost? It is estimated that these upgrades would cost $10 billion but create an overall net benefit of $30 billion.