Two Sydney beaches still closed after mystery debris ‘grease balls’ washed ashore
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Dee Why and South Curl Curl remain closed but seven others reopen after marble-sized debris washed up at multiple locations. Sydney’s Northern Beaches council says it has reopened seven of the nine beaches that were closed to the public after marble-sized “grease balls” washed ashore.
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Queenscliff, Freshwater, North Curl Curl, North Steyne and North Narrabeen beaches reopened on Wednesday morning, the day after they were closed after the discovery of the debris. Dee Why and South Curl Curl beaches remained closed, the council said. The council said the composition and source of the balls had not been determined but it had sent debris samples for testing.
A spokesperson for Sydney Water on Tuesday described the debris as “grease balls”. The Northern Beaches mayor, Sue Heins, congratulated the council’s clean-up crews for getting the beaches ready to reopen quickly. “We will continue to monitor the beaches’ condition, especially following the high tide this morning,” she said.
The council said decision to reopen the beaches was made on criteria provided by the New South Wales Environment Protection Authority (EPA). Sydney Water on Tuesday said there had been no issues with the normal operations of the Warriewood, North Head, Bondi, Malabar and Cronulla water resource recovery plants.
