A great walk along the beach…

Newport's picturesque stormwater outlet

… in my fabulous new rain jacket. Very gratifying because it rained, but I didn’t swim, and this is why …

Newport’s tempestuous weather put paid to my plans. Days of unrelenting rain have washed the local streets clean, and it’s all landing right here on the beach.

May I make an environmental plea at this point?

All storm water starts outside your home, and finishes up on your nearest beach, or in your closest waterway. If you want to continue seeing things like this image below …

April ... a crab hides among the weed in a rockpool

There are a few simple steps you can take.

1. Collect your water in a tank and get brownie points for saving our water supply and saving our beaches.

2. Double check that the plumbers didn’t route your stormwater into the sewer pipes … this can cause them to overflow and wind up, via the streets, in waterways, leading to raised e coli levels in the ocean.

3. Pick up your dog poo, for the same reason. If it lies there on the street long enough, eventually rain will wash it into the gutters … it’s  got to finish up somewhere.

4. Resist the temptation to pour the old thinners, turps, paint and so on down the drain or into a gutter. It has to wind up either in a river or in the ocean. Check with your local council about chemical drop off days, and put up with the messy containers in the garage till you can get rid of them properly.

5. Only use organic fertilisers on your garden, and avoid all chemical pesticides. Why? When it rains heavily they are washed off the topsoil in your garden and finish up in waterways. Scientists have found that Sydney Harbour is still filling up with dangerous dioxins and other poisons, in spite of the fact that it’s been illegal for industry to dump these chemicals for the last 30 years. The motor car is partly to blame, also home use of poisons. See this episode of Catalyst (ABC) for more details.

6. Finally, any bit of rubbish dropped on the street will probably end up in the gutter, and risks being washed via subterranean pipes into a river, lake or ocean … all street gutters lead not to Rome, but to natural waterways. There’s always heaps of rubbish lying at Newport’s stormwater outlet after rain … and it all comes from the surrounding streets.

Remember it’s your family and friends who could wind up swimming in all this muck … and thank you for your attention.

Dave, Howard and Kim

In spite of all that, these guys still took their routine dip. They call themselves the 6.30 swimmers … a name designed to strike fear into the hearts of all but the most intrepid.

This Morning’s Stats:

Temperature: 13ºC

Water: Uh oh it’s dropped below the 21 mark to 20.9º C

Sand: Pretty cold, but I’m getting used to my barefoot walks and it doesn’t feel so bad any more

Me: Feeling great

Tide: Low

Moon: Getting slimmer every day

Surf: Average

Wildlife: Sulphur crested cockatoos were going crazy over the northern end of the beach

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