The Pumicestone Passage stinks.

[Gon Fishun]

Piece this together and have a think about it.
Since moving to Bribie the wife has done a little reading and research, and found a story about sulfuric acid in the soils, so I thought a bit of Google searching wouldn't go astray. I recall when the Mariner Precinct was being constructed the rotten egg gas stink was bloody strong.
The following passages have been copied and pasted.



To date mapping has been completed in the 367 ha of land in the Beachmere area. The
investigation included 70 boreholes undertaken to a maximum depth of 7.6 m. Of the 367 ha
investigated, 15 ha were found to contain actual acid sulfate soils with existing acidity up to
0.17 %S (106 moles H+
/tonne) at shallow depth primarily within the top 1.0 m of soil. Of the
remaining 352 ha, potential acid sulfate soils with up to 2.7 %S (1684 moles H+
/tonne) were
found to occur at various depths ranging from less than 0.5 m to 4 m below the surface.
Acid sulfate soil mapping on the southern end of Bribie Island covering 1656 ha of land is
continuing with 82 boreholes complete and potential acid sulfate soil identified at depths from
less than 0.5 m to 9 m.
For further information contact Don Malcolm from the Department of Natural Resources and
Water on (07) 3896 9888 or don.malcolm@nrw.qld.gov.au

Acid sulfate soilsare naturally occurring soils, sediments or organicsubstrates (e.g. peat (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peat)) that are formedunder waterlogged conditions. These soils contain iron sulfide (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_sulfide) minerals (predominantly as the mineral pyrite (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrite)) or their oxidation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redox) products. In an undisturbed statebelow the water table, acid sulfate soils are benign. However if the soils aredrained, excavated or exposed to air by a lowering of the water table, thesulfides react with oxygen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygen) to form sulfuric acid (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfuric_acid).[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_sulfate_soil#cite_note-DEC_June_06-1)
Release of this sulfuric acid from the soilcan in turn release iron (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron), aluminium (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium),and other heavy metals (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_metals) (particularly arsenic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsenic))within the soil. Once mobilized in this way, the acid and metals can create avariety of adverse impacts: killing vegetation, seeping into and acidifying groundwater (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundwater)and water bodies (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_bodies),killing fish (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish) and other aquatic organisms, anddegrading concrete (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete) and steel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel) structures to the point of failure.[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_sulfate_soil#cite_note-DEC_June_06-1)

The toxic marine blue-green alga Lyngbya majuscula has always been in Moreton Bay, but in recent years its blooms have become larger and more persistent. The Moreton Bay region is one of the fastest growing areas in Australia and it experiences some of the largest blooms reported anywhere in the world.
The blooms affect tourism, recreation and fishing. Greg Savige and his brothers have been commercial fishers in Moreton Bay for 35 years, and they blame Lyngbya for catch reductions of up to 66% during bloom times.
The Department of Natural Resources and Water (NRW) is working with the University of Queensland (UQ) on a project to address the Lyngbya problem with funding assistance from Natural Heritage Trust through the SEQ Healthy Waterways Partnership.
Various researchers have shown that temperature, light, salinity and nutrients affect the size and duration of the blooms. Using bioassays and field experiments, UQ PhD student Kathleen Ahern has shown significant responses of Lyngbya to iron, phosphorus, nitrogen and organic matter. Groundwater from acid sulfate soils also showed significant Lyngbya responses in bioassays and was correlated with iron and phosphorus levels.
Shane Pointon from NRW has led the Queensland Acid Sulfate Soil Investigation Team in sampling groundwater and investigation land sources of these nutrients through soil and water sampling, analyses and mapping. A model and map of areas that are likely to export nutrients into Moreton Bay has been developed to support the Algal Bloom Policy 2.4.7 in the South-East Queensland Regional Coastal Management Plan 2006.
Lyngbya looks like dark, matted hair when removed from the water. Only sea hare and rabbit fish can tolerate its toxins. If touched directly it can cause skin, eye and throat irritation.
During hot, calm periods Lyngbya blooms and forms surface rafts that wash onto beaches and mangroves where they rot. The decay smells, is unsightly and causes beach closures and large clean-up bills. The inhalation of dried Lyngbya
that has washed up on beaches can bring on asthma-like symptoms
Caboolture Shire Council removed approximately 6000 tonnes of Lyngbya from
foreshores in the summer of 2006/07 at a cost exceeding $345,000. Bribie Island was one of the shire’s worst affected areas.
For further information contact Shane Pointon
from NRW on (07) 389 69352 or
shane.pointon@nrw.qld.gov.au

[sharkcat 23]

Where abouts on Bribie are you, we recently brought a little holiday house on Bribie near Red Beech, the very southern end. This place seems to have been build mainly on a very sandy soil. very free draining. Having deal with acid sulphide soil in my line of work, have usually found it when working near swampy or old swamp areas, it is easily deal with during excavation, simply mix the soils with lime and turn it over a few times, unfortunately this doesn't help with the algie bloom problem. Thankyou for the information, mainly brought the house so I could go fishing around there.

[cuzzamundi]

Talked to a bloke who lives on one of the estates canals on Bribie, and he reckoned the prospect of even catching a bream was ambitious. Couldn't believe it. Have had success there before, myself, but to hear a resident say such a thing was quite worrying. The Lyngbia situation is definitely getting worse.

Cuzza

[tunaticer]

Having spent decades hunting the scrub on bibie and mainland adjacent, the problem is far more widespread than where you indicate. Basically from the glass house mountians to the coast has huge pockets of acidic swamp areas and about 60% of Bribie is the same.
The fish kills at Beachmere a few years ago are acid related and that is also cyclic. There are plenty of other lagoons and swamps in the area that turn similarly every few years.
The algae bloom every July to September has been around for at least the past 40 years that I have noticed.......it's intensity seems to be greater in the flood and two years after flood than during the peak drought times.....I am hoping this year will be marginally less intense than last years bloom.

[chris69]

Was in the passage today southen end and the snot weed is ready to leave the banks and yes it will add to the stink.

[Gon Fishun]

Where abouts on Bribie are you, we recently brought a little holiday house on Bribie near Red Beech, the very southern end. This place seems to have been build mainly on a very sandy soil. very free draining. Having deal with acid sulphide soil in my line of work, have usually found it when working near swampy or old swamp areas, it is easily deal with during excavation, simply mix the soils with lime and turn it over a few times, unfortunately this doesn't help with the algie bloom problem. Thankyou for the information, mainly brought the house so I could go fishing around there.

I'am in Banksia Beach. The wife remembers 25 odd years back , with ex husband, when they would rent a house over here with the rest of the relo's and go off fishing at day light and bring bucket a bucket of whiting for breakfast.
I have been told that when Dux creek was plowed under , disturbed , made into canals that's when a lot of trouble started around
here, disturbing the coffee rock which covers a big area.

[tunaticer]

Dux creek was a major loss yes.
What is more disturburbing though is Tripcony Bight having so little impact on the fishery, it has been a greenzone for decades yet the numbers of fish near it are not much different to anywhere else in the system. Sure is a massive expanse of prime breeding ground.
Get onto Nearmap and have a look at the floodzone areas to the west, the mangroves have died out.......is this acid related or has something else happened there?

[chris69]

Yes Dux creek was a very big stuff up and so was the pine forests being put to close the the main creeks that run into the passage,just wait until the next north lakes is finished up at bells creek the northen end of the passage will be stuffed too.

[Fillet`n`Release]

I've only lived on the canals at Bribie for almost 4yrs now, but I've got to know a few of the locals who've been here since before the bridge or the canals were excavated. I've been told the canals initially were clear water, with sand along the revetment walls. That's obviously changed a lot (council negligence is a very hot issue on the Island these days).

Some of the other issues includes the "black water" that drains into the canal systems from places like the Pacific Harbour Golf Course. That is currently under discussion with the EPA to actually stop flushing the fresh water runoff from those areas, and divert it into another estuary/inlet that isn't connected to the canals to see if there's a better path that can filter naturally through mangroves and the likes. The black water stagnates at the northern end of the Pac Harbour canals and I pity the poor owners up there. I think it has been attributed to fish kills, I've personally seen entire schools of adult trevally dead on a few occasions, but there's never been scientific investigation to determine such events.

From a fishing perspective, I've caught a wide variety of species off my pontoon. However I don't think I'd eat anything I catch here. No specific reason other than I do wonder what's in the water and thus what's in the organisms living in the water. I have seen as recently as last year 100cm+ flathead, and 55cm bream, mangrove jacks of various sizes. Huge populations of juvenile bream (or tarwhine), massive populations of happy moments (rabbitfish), mullet and so forth. So the canals do sustain life of a reasonable variety even though the water quality is possibly questionable. In fact yesterday I was ducking out for a fish and I saw a small pod of dolphins actually swimming in the canals heading towards the marina. That's a first.

As for Dux Creek and other "stuff ups" that may or may not have taken place during the excavation of the Pac Harbour Canals (originally Solander Lake), it's an ongoing saga right now on Bribie Is in relation to the canal levy (/cough tax). It's interesting to hear the comment about disturbance of the coffee rock and what potential impacts that could have as it releases chemicals and nutrients into the system.

In relation to the smell, I know exactly what you're referring to but I can't say it's common. I think maybe once a month I might get a strong "fishy" smell, which is usually the weed rotting on a low tide and the right wind is blowing the smell onto my property. But I don't find it to be something that's so frequent or horrible to the point it's distressing. In fact this year as for "snot weed" my pontoon is completely clear. Normally throughout winter I'd accumulate up to 2 metre long ribbons of weed in the current, but it's completely bare right now. Perhaps it's a lack of rain, warmer winter, I don't know I'm not a marine biologist or botanist. I also haven't had much agony plastic fishing in the south end of the passage, though I have heard people reporting the northern end with enough weed to be a nuisance.

[tunaticer]

Best solution for Pacific Harbour would be to put a second entrance at the nerthern end just before Whitepatch. That will give the back end of the canals some flows........until that is done that water will not reach the sea.

[chris69]

There is a entrance at wrights creek which is north, but not big enough.