❓ The question concerns the measures taken after warning signs and a fish kill in the Swan River. The answer outlines testing conducted and ongoing projects, emphasizing the long-term nature of the issue and progress made in reducing nitrogen and phosphorus levels.
AnsweredQoN 757Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I have a supplementary question. What measures were put in place by the Swan River Trust or the Water and Rivers Commission after those first warning signs were received, followed by the massive fish kill in the Swan River of only two weeks ago? Dr J.M. EDWARDS
AnswerView source ↗
As was put most eloquently by Hon Peter Foss, the issues we are dealing with in the Swan River are long-term issues. Hon Peter Foss copped some flak four or five years ago when he claimed that it would be 50 years before a turnaround would occur. I am pleased to say that, with the work of many people and successive Governments, something of a turnaround is occurring in matters that can be measured, such as nitrogen and phosphorous levels. When the fish deaths started in April and followed through until May, the Swan River Trust tested the fish, the water and the sediment to make sure that the algal bloom and oxygen depletion were causing the fish deaths and to clarify that there were no other causes. The trust has been happy with the results that have come through. In addition, the 20 or so projects carried out through the Swan-Canning Rivers clean-up program have continued. If there were some magic wand that I could wave, I would be waving it, but there is no magic wand; instead there are a large number of strategies. We will continue to work on them and to roll them out, as we did on Saturday with the last of the Avon River recovery plans.
Dr J.M. EDWARDS replied: As was put most eloquently by Hon Peter Foss, the issues we are dealing with in the Swan River are long-term issues. Hon Peter Foss copped some flak four or five years ago when he claimed that it would be 50 years before a turnaround would occur. I am pleased to say that, with the work of many people and successive Governments, something of a turnaround is occurring in matters that can be measured, such as nitrogen and phosphorous levels. When the fish deaths started in April and followed through until May, the Swan River Trust tested the fish, the water and the sediment to make sure that the algal bloom and oxygen depletion were causing the fish deaths and to clarify that there were no other causes. The trust has been happy with the results that have come through. In addition, the 20 or so projects carried out through the Swan-Canning Rivers clean-up program have continued. If there were some magic wand that I could wave, I would be waving it, but there is no magic wand; instead there are a large number of strategies. We will continue to work on them and to roll them out, as we did on Saturday with the last of the Avon River recovery plans.
As was put most eloquently by Hon Peter Foss, the issues we are dealing with in the Swan River are long-term issues. Hon Peter Foss copped some flak four or five years ago when he claimed that it would be 50 years before a turnaround would occur. I am pleased to say that, with the work of many people and successive Governments, something of a turnaround is occurring in matters that can be measured, such as nitrogen and phosphorous levels. When the fish deaths started in April and followed through until May, the Swan River Trust tested the fish, the water and the sediment to make sure that the algal bloom and oxygen depletion were causing the fish deaths and to clarify that there were no other causes. The trust has been happy with the results that have come through. In addition, the 20 or so projects carried out through the Swan-Canning Rivers clean-up program have continued. If there were some magic wand that I could wave, I would be waving it, but there is no magic wand; instead there are a large number of strategies. We will continue to work on them and to roll them out, as we did on Saturday with the last of the Avon River recovery plans.
Dr J.M. EDWARDS replied: As was put most eloquently by Hon Peter Foss, the issues we are dealing with in the Swan River are long-term issues. Hon Peter Foss copped some flak four or five years ago when he claimed that it would be 50 years before a turnaround would occur. I am pleased to say that, with the work of many people and successive Governments, something of a turnaround is occurring in matters that can be measured, such as nitrogen and phosphorous levels. When the fish deaths started in April and followed through until May, the Swan River Trust tested the fish, the water and the sediment to make sure that the algal bloom and oxygen depletion were causing the fish deaths and to clarify that there were no other causes. The trust has been happy with the results that have come through. In addition, the 20 or so projects carried out through the Swan-Canning Rivers clean-up program have continued. If there were some magic wand that I could wave, I would be waving it, but there is no magic wand; instead there are a large number of strategies. We will continue to work on them and to roll them out, as we did on Saturday with the last of the Avon River recovery plans.
As was put most eloquently by Hon Peter Foss, the issues we are dealing with in the Swan River are long-term issues. Hon Peter Foss copped some flak four or five years ago when he claimed that it would be 50 years before a turnaround would occur. I am pleased to say that, with the work of many people and successive Governments, something of a turnaround is occurring in matters that can be measured, such as nitrogen and phosphorous levels. When the fish deaths started in April and followed through until May, the Swan River Trust tested the fish, the water and the sediment to make sure that the algal bloom and oxygen depletion were causing the fish deaths and to clarify that there were no other causes. The trust has been happy with the results that have come through. In addition, the 20 or so projects carried out through the Swan-Canning Rivers clean-up program have continued. If there were some magic wand that I could wave, I would be waving it, but there is no magic wand; instead there are a large number of strategies. We will continue to work on them and to roll them out, as we did on Saturday with the last of the Avon River recovery plans.
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