Tasmania’s health and waterways are under threat
— and the evidence is overflowing.
Tasmania’s sewage is managed by TasWater, which is jointly owned by Tasmania’s local councils and the Tasmanian Government. TasWater’s own published reports show that over half a billion litres of under-treated sewage was released into Tasmania’s precious waterways in 2024-25 alone.
Tasmania has more sewage treatment plants per capita than any other state across Australia. This ageing infrastructural legacy is collapsing.
TasWater has been forced to rely on hundreds of bypass events – releasing sewage that has only been through primary (mechanical) treatment, bypassing secondary (biological) treatments, directly into waterways – to manage its overflowing systems.
Even for fully treated wastewater, 90% of plants exceed the maximum levels of pollutants outlined by the EPA in their Environmental Protection Notices (EPNs).
TasWater has identified plants in need of critical upgrades, but lacks the funds to fix the problem quickly.
In the meantime, Tasmanians are left swimming in sewage.
Information about bypass events is only available in TasWater’s technical reports. Some local councils fund water quality programs but these only run at limited times and in limited locations. For the rest of the year, Tasmanians are left without a clear idea whether they are swimming, fishing or kayaking in under-treated sewage.
That is why Environment Tasmania is calling on the Minister for Health, Mental Health and Wellbeing Bridget Archer MP, to champion the health of all Tasmanians – by funding the roll-out of real–time monitoring of these sewage pollution events – so swimmers, fishers, rowers and all water-loving Tasmanians can make informed decisions about their exposure to this sewage pollution.
Excessive E. coli puts swimmers, fishers and shellfish harvesters at risk. Excess nitrogen and phosphorus trigger toxic algal blooms that can devastate aquatic ecosystems and make waterways unsafe for people, pets and wildlife for months at a time. And when bypass events occur — as they increasingly do during heavy rainfall — under-treated sewage flows directly into the waterways.
We are calling on Health Minister Bridget Archer MP to take urgent action by working with the Tasmanian Government to:
Fund the roll out of real time monitors – such as the Event Duration Monitors used widely across the United Kingdom – on all Level 2 sewage treatment plants across Tasmania.
Alert the public in real-time, when these sewage pollution events are occurring, so that Tasmanian’s can avoid coming into contact with sewage pollution.
Prioritise the health of Tasmanians’ and their waterways over short-term cost considerations, recognising that the environmental and public health cost of inaction far outweighs the cost of investment.
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