The Northern Beaches of Sydney are facing an unexpected challenge as mysterious grease balls have led to the closure of nine popular beaches. The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) identified these balls as containing fatty acids, petroleum hydrocarbons, and other organic and inorganic materials. Initially mistaken for "tar balls" or remnants of fatbergs, these substances have caused significant concern among local authorities and residents. The Northern Beaches council has advised beachgoers to avoid the affected areas until further notice.
The EPA and the Northern Beaches council are actively collaborating to address the situation. Samples of the balls are being collected for analysis, with the aim of comparing them to other debris found on the eastern beaches. This effort seeks to determine whether they share a common origin. Furthermore, the EPA reportedly knew for over a week that the balls were consistent with human-generated waste before publicly disclosing this information.
A spokesperson for Sydney Water described the debris as "grease balls," while emphasizing that their water resource recovery plants, including those at Warriewood, North Head, Bondi, Malabar, and Cronulla, continue to operate normally.
"We comply with our licences as set by the NSW EPA and only discharge compliant wastewater during normal operations," said a spokesperson for Sydney Water.
Despite these assurances, the discovery of these balls follows a troubling pattern. Similar debris washed up on eastern suburbs beaches in October last year. The recently closed beaches include Manly, Dee Why, Long Reef, Queenscliff, Freshwater, North and South Curl Curl, North Steyne, and North Narrabeen. The Northern Beaches mayor, Sue Heins, expressed uncertainty about the origin of these grease balls.
"We don’t know at the moment what it is and that makes it even more concerning," stated Mayor Sue Heins.
"There’s something that’s obviously leaking or dropping or whatever and floating out there and being tossed around. But who’s actually dropped it or lost it or leaked it is something none of us know," she added.
The issue is not isolated to the northern beaches. In early December, similar green, grey, and black balls appeared on a beach in Kurnell, in Sydney's south. These were found to contain traces of drugs, hair, motor oil, food waste, animal matter, and human feces. The presence of such materials raises alarms regarding environmental and public health concerns. The Greens criticized the EPA in December, suggesting that the authority had made little progress in identifying the source of this debris.
Sydney Water representatives maintain that their operations have not contributed to this phenomenon.
"Sydney Water can confirm there have been no issues with the normal operations of the Warriewood, North Head, Bondi, Malabar, and Cronulla Water Resource Recovery plants," a spokesperson confirmed.
Additionally, they acknowledged that while the tar balls might have absorbed existing wastewater discharge in the water, they did not originate from their facilities.
"Sydney Water acknowledges the tar balls may have absorbed wastewater discharge, which was already present in the water while forming; however, they did not form as a result of our wastewater discharges," remarked a Sydney Water spokesperson.
The EPA has been contacted for further comments as investigations continue. Authorities are keen on identifying and addressing the root cause to prevent further occurrences.