Government puts onus on industry to develop new river-safe fertiliser

10/9/06
Environment Minister Mark McGowan has called a high level meeting with the fertiliser industry to phase-out river-harming fertilisers in areas that affect rivers, estuaries and wetlands in the State's South-West.
The phase-out would coincide with the introduction of new, environmentally safe alternatives to be developed by industry.
Mr McGowan said the Carpenter Government was serious about tackling the cause of the problems facing the Swan and Canning rivers, Peel Harvey estuary and South-West rivers and wetlands.
The Minister was announcing $1.4million in additional funding to help stem the flow of excess nutrients into the Swan River at Ellen Brook - one of the biggest contributors of nutrients to the Swan Canning river system.
The funding would be used for on-the-ground drainage works to strip nutrients from the Ellen Brook before they enter the river.
Mr McGowan said testing had shown that the equivalent of 730 kilos of phosphorus fertiliser seeped into the Swan River through the Ellen Brook every day.
"We are spending millions of dollars to address the symptoms of ill-health in our river system but we also need to address the cause," he said.
"The problems our rivers are facing now have been caused by 170 years of development and it will take some time to turn this around.
"Together with our strong new legislation to protect the rivers, the $15million boost announced last week, and our programs to oxygenate, reduce nutrients and restore the foreshore, we will go a long way towards reversing this decline.
"However, to really stop the problem at the source, we need to change the way we do things, which is why we will be phasing-out water-soluble fertiliser on the Swan Coastal Plain."
Mr McGowan said he had expressed his concerns in a letter to industry leaders in February about excess nutrients entering the river system through the application of water-soluble fertiliser.
"We will be meeting with the fertiliser industry in early October about developing 'river-safe' products that can be used across the board," he said.
"The Swan Coastal Plain has sandy soils that do not retain nutrients well.
"That is why water-soluble fertilisers pass straight through the soil and into the groundwater, which eventually ends up in our river systems, estuaries and wetlands.
"We will be working with the fertiliser industry to phase-out these fertilisers, to coincide with the development of river-safe alternatives.
"It is important to note that no-one will need to throw away what they currently have in their garden sheds - this will be a phase-out at the manufacturing end.
"Even though the benefits of such a scheme will not be immediately apparent, it is important that we act now to gain results for the long-term."
Minister's office - 9222 9111