Impact on the environment

Every incident reported to the Council is graded according to the impact it has on the receiving environment, that is, where it ends up. In 2009-2010, 19% (187) of incidents reported to the Council had no detectable impact on the environment and 47% (458) had only a minor impact. They were short-lived and/or affected only a small area and caused no significant damage to the environment.

On the other hand, 3% (27) of the incidents reported to the Council had a significant impact on the environment – they were long-lived and/or occurred over a large area. The majority of these incidents were of a short duration and were mainly discharges to waterways. There was one significant incident that affected a significant wetland that required restoration.

Photo: An overturned truck leaking petrol was a potential environmental incident