Oxley Creek was teeming with bacteria more than 13 times the level shown to have health impacts on humans, recent tests show.

Brisbane City Council tests for the faecal pollution marker enterococci showed last month Oxley Creek reached 550 colony forming units (equivalent to at least 550 bacteria) per 100ml of water. Levels of 40 or less CFU are below the threshold of illness transmission.

Samples are taken off a pontoon at the end of Cliveden Ave, Corinda, used as a launching spot for watercraft such as canoes.

A council spokesman said “a trend for high results coincides with rainfall”.

Oxley Creek Catchment Association’s Anne Clarke said the creek had a history of being polluted.

She warned recreational users to check bacterial levels before using the creek.

“OCCA would like to see a program where the smaller waterways flowing into Oxley Creek upstream from the monitoring point … are investigated so that the source of the problem might be identified,” she said.

“The range of programs that BCC has in place to help improve creek water quality is welcomed but positive outcomes are reliant on strong enforcement actions to ensure compliance.”

The spokesman said the council monitored waterways to ensure the public was not exposed to health risks. “Council is working in partnership with Queensland Urban Utilities to identify potential sources of contamination,” he said.

A spokesman for Queensland Urban Utilities, which operates the Oxley Sewage Treatment Plant opposite the testing site, said “there is no evidence to indicate that the ... plant is the cause of the enterococci”.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

■ Enterococci live in the gut of humans and animals and are excreted in faeces

■ Washed by rain into waterways via run-off and stormwater drains and discharged/spilt from sewers

■ Linked to urinary tract infections, gastroenteritis, skin and blood infections, conjunctivitis, dermatitis, colds, sinusitis and, rarely, meningitis

■ Some strains are resistant to antibiotics

Source: moretonbay.qld.gov.au

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