Jordan Creek, between Durham and Morriset Street, has become a popular location for illegal dumping and local resident Rick O’Donnell has had enough.
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Mr O’Donnell became aware of the mess after walking his dog and he wants to see some action on the state of the river.
“Something has got to be done about it. It’s not a good look,” the Morriset Street resident said.
“There’s rubbish bags and garbage in it. It’s just crap.
“It could be filled in and packed down, with underground pipes, and you’d get your money back for building blocks on it.”
Bathurst Regional Council does not have a routine schedule for the removal of dumped material in Jordan Creek.
Ultimately the responsibility lies with the owners of the surrounding land to remove any litter, as this section of Jordan Creek is privately owned and not council owned.
Bathurst Regional Council general manager David Sherley said proposals for works within Jordan Creek are the responsibility of owners, subject to the appropriate approvals from Council and NSW Office of Water.
“Council has in the past made arrangements to remove larger items such as shopping trolleys and given that the material in the creek is close to the culvert, council will arrange to get a crew to the site … to remove it,” he said.
The dumping of rubbish and other materials in rivers and creeks is unlawful and is regulated by the Protection of the Environmental Operations Act 1997.
If council is able to identify the offender there a variety of regulatory tools which can be implemented including warning letters, Penalty Infringement Notices or Clean Up Notices.
As of last week, the section of Jordan Creek between Durham and Morrisset Street was littered with over a dozen full, pink garbage bags, rubbish, debris and shopping trolleys.
A cat was even spotted napping in a drain pipe.
Jordan Creek begins on the corner of the Mid Western Highway on the corner Delaware Crescent.
It flows all the way behind the Bathurst Indoor Sports Stadium, through the city (between Rankin and George Street) and flows into the Macquarie River north of the Hereford Street bridge.
