The Yarra River's environmental health is being put at risk due to litter, pollution and invasive species, with nearly 180 tonnes of rubbish being collected from the river system over a four-year period, a report has warned.
Victoria's Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability rated the river's health as"poor" in 18 out of 25 environmental indicators in its first State of the Yarra report, which provides a comprehensive assessment of the baseline health of the ecosystem.117-page report found the water quality of the Yarra River had mostly remained"poor" for more than a decade
, indicating"that the system is under considerable stress, mostly in the lower urbanised catchment of the Yarra River". It also stated that over a four-year period between 2014 and 2017, a waste and litter program collected 179 tonnes of litter, including 1.29 million cigarette butts from the river and its mouth at Port Phillip Bay.
Between 2013 and 2017, the Environment Protection Agency received 338 water pollution reports — the vast majority of which came from Alphington and further downstream.
This is MELBOURNE folks NOT O/S so LOOK after OUR CITY & WATERWAYS!!