Antibiotic resistant E.coli was found in the water around Golden Beach and Bulcock Beach by Take Action for Pumicestone Passage (TAPP) and scientists from the University of the Sunshine Coast following recent rain events.

TAPP believes these levels breach National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) water quality guidelines, but local and state authorities have yet to offer any solutions.

A TAPP spokesperson said results from a water collection on 21 November during high tide at the Coast Guard Jetty and Military Jetty revealed TEM-1 gene E.coli contaminant.

The TEM-1 gene in E. coli encodes a beta-lactamase enzyme that breaks down antibiotics like penicillin and ampicillin, making them ineffective.

The testing group believe prolonged rain is flushing contaminated freshwater through the stormwater system in the area, which is now infrequently flushed out by ocean water since the Bribie Island breakthrough.

“It appears that the recent prolonged rain has again caused an E.coli spike at the Coast Guard Jetty site, and the low salinity level indicates high levels of freshwater admixture at the (Military Jetty) site,” the test results read.

TAPP members are also concerned closely-located construction sites with deep basements could be likely contenders for low pH levels.

“The Council are still seemingly unconcerned and believe the Pumicestone Passage is the responsibility of the State, but stormwater is the responsibility of the Council and they should be running independent testing to investigate this,” the TAPP spokesperson said.

“Since the bar has closed over the water at Bulcock and Golden Beaches is now under much more influence from stormwater than before.

“Every time we get water in the north end of the Passage from our storm water drains we are getting bacteria and we don’t know where it’s from or how long it’s hanging around.

“The Department of Environment, Science and Innovation (DESI) are purposely not looking into it and the Council are purposely not looking into it.

“It’s a heads up that TAPP has identified these potential problems but is is now up to State and Council to become fully active and investigating this in far more detail according to NHMRC guidelines.”

A Sunshine Coast Council media response to the issue maintained the State Government is responsible for water quality in the Pumicestone Passage.

A DESI spokesperson said they had “not recently observed anything of concern with water quality in the Pumicestone Passage.

“For the past 20 years, DESI has been conducting water quality monitoring within Pumicestone Passage as part of the South East Queensland Ecosystem Health Monitoring Program, which forms the basis for the Healthy Land and Water Report Card,” the spokesperson said.

Since the formation of a new passage at Bribie Island, DESI said it had “increased water quality monitoring in northern Pumicestone Passage”, specifically:

• An additional water quality monitoring site was added at the new entrance to the new bar in September 2022.
• Quantification of the concentration of Enterococci bacteria as an indicator of sewage contamination was added to data collection in August 2023 to support safe swimming conditions over the summer.
• And, to enable data collection as the new passage formed, a near real-time water quality monitoring buoy was deployed opposite the Bulcock Beach boardwalk from August 2023 to July 2024.

Water quality data within the Pumicestone Passage is publicly available via a Healthy Land and Water interactive dashboard and the Queensland Government Open Data Portal.