The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has issued Ku-ring-gai Council with a $30,000 fine for a leachate leak at North Turramurra Golf Course.
In July of 2025, Council reported a failed pump that managed leachate at the old landfill. Leachate often carries pollutants such as ammonia that can deplete oxygen levels in waterways and harm aquatic life.
After investigations, sample collected revealed contamination in a nearby creek. As a result of slow flow from the leak, the polluted water was isolated to a 30-metre stretch.
‘The risk here for the surrounding environment was very high and real as the creek flows towards Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park,’ says EPA Executive Director Operations Steve Beaman. ‘We expect all our licensees to maintain equipment and infrastructure properly to avoid incidents like this, and allowing a pump to leak into a waterway is not acceptable.’
After the clean-up, the EPA issued a Prevention Notice ordering the council to review and improve its leachate-management systems. Council has since submitted a report with recommended upgrades, which the EPA is now assessing.
