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Gold Coast City Council under investigation after major sewage spill into Albert River

 A river

The leak from a sewer main at a riverside paddock in Yatala was found two weeks ago.  (ABC Gold Coast: Danielle Mahe)

A Queensland council is under investigation by the state government after at least 350 million litres of raw sewage spilled into a Gold Coast river. 

The equivalent of about 140 Olympic swimming pools of effluent matter spilled into the Albert River at Yatala before the leak was detected by Gold Coast City Council and repaired earlier this month.

The council confirmed the spill was caused by a broken pipe that could have been leaking since January.

Department of Environment executive director Brad Wirth said he had not seen a spill of such scale in Queensland. 

"No, no, we haven't seen a spill of this magnitude in Queensland to my knowledge," he said. 

Mr Wirth said the spill was under investigation and labelled the Gold Coast City Council as the "polluter" in the spill.

"The council is responsible for ensuring appropriate testing and monitoring of the Albert River and flow on waterways," Mr Wirth said.

He said based on the scale of the spill "it could lead to prosecution of some fairly serious offences".

A map shows where sewage leaked into a river.

A sewerage main broke right next to the Albert River. (Supplied: Gold Coast City Council)

Mr Wirth said the spill was initially reported by a member of the public and the department would investigate how long the leak went on undetected.

"We would expect that the procedures in place to monitor the sewerage network would identify and detect [a leak]," he said. 

Gold Coast City Council executive general manager of infrastructure Michael Kahler today announced an independent investigation by a "specialised engineering firm" to determine the cause of the break, how it went undetected and the effectiveness of the council's response.

Mr Kahler said the council understood the seriousness of the incident but "until results of testing being undertaken by state agencies are available, speculation about the impact was unproductive".

A Gold Coast City Council spokesperson said the council was unaware of any previous spills "of this size or duration in the city".

'Environmental disaster'

Wildlife Queensland Gold Coast and Hinterland branch president Sally Spain labelled the spill one of the biggest "environmental disasters this city has ever faced".

Ms Spain was joined by community groups — including Society for Conservation Biology SEQ, Gecko Environment Council and the Surf Rider Foundation — calling for a review into the council's "ageing infrastructure" to be upgraded.

"This is a pollution scandal beyond the experience of anyone in this city," Ms Spain said.

Lady protesting

Sally Spain says environmental and community groups are frustrated over the lack of transparency. (ABC News: Jessica Lamb )

Gold Coast councillor Mark Hammel, who represents the area, has called for accountability.

"We're a city that has the ability to tell residents that their water usage is up through smart metering, yet somehow millions of litres of raw sewage has entered a river system, and we were not aware of it for several months," he said.

Bridge

Pipes near property where sewage main burst. (ABC Gold Coast: Danielle Mahe)

Effects on public health

Kieran Le Plastrier, an Assistant Professor of general practice at Bond University, said the immediate health risks associated with raw sewage exposure were significant.

"Anyone who comes into contact with contaminated water is at risk of waterborne illnesses and gastrointestinal illnesses," Dr Le Plastrier said.

Person fishing Albert River Yatala

A person was spotted fishing on the Albert River on Wednesday morning. (ABC Gold Coast: Danielle Mahe)

He said even though the spill had been contained, it could still have long-term effects on public health.

"Sediment in the rivers, the algae, and also animals that eat that algae all become bio accumulators of the pathogens, the bugs and the chemicals in that sewer water," he said.

"This isn't just a problem for days and weeks following contamination like this, it's actually something which will need to be monitored over time."

'Another bad blow'

Jeff Brauer, who has lived near the Albert River all his life, said he wasn't surprised by the spill "because the river is just purely treated as a drain".

"It's just another bad blow to hit the river because it's suffered a lot of bad blows," Mr Brauer said.

"The last 40 or 50 years the river has been very mistreated — there's been sewerage water pumped into it, all the runoff water from everywhere goes into the river, and just absolutely spoils the river."

Jeff Brauer Yatala local

Jeff says his family used to fish and swim in the river. (ABC Gold Coast: Danielle Mahe)

Mr Brauer said his family used to swim and catch fish, prawns and crabs in the river but they stopped because of declining water quality.

"The river used to be beautiful and pristine and blue as the ocean but I haven't seen that for 40 years — it's just a total mess the river to tell you the truth."

In a letter to residents in earlier this month, the council told residents not to consume seafood from the Albert or Logan River.