According to one report, children swimming at the popular park found what they believed to be faeces in the water and on the sand last weekend.

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“It’s disgusting that this (is) happening at a beautiful park and (what) was a beautiful clean waterway,” one contributor said in a post on a popular community Facebook page.

Nambucca Valley Council General Manager Bede Spannagle told NOTA that any sewage found in or around Bellwood Park last weekend was not the result of the Council-operated sewage treatment, but would more likely be caused by visitors to the area.

“I am absolutely confident that any sewage found in the water there would be from illegal camping nearby,” he told NOTA.

A post on Facebook from last December snapped photos of used toilet paper on Stuart Island, Nambucca Heads, just across the water from Bellwood beach.

Several regular walkers at Stuart Island confirmed to NOTA that the beaches are usually clean, but said the area is popular with free campers, especially during holiday periods and over weekends.

Despite the Council increasing its ranger numbers last July from 1.5 to 2.5, there are a number of hotspots for the offence in the Nambucca Valley, Mr Spannagle claimed.

“Shelly Beach is one but our rangers act on advice,” he said, urging locals to inform Council about problem campers if they notice them.

“We have issued a number of fines in the past for illegal camping but haven’t got the budget to put rangers on patrol, looking for them,” he said.

Stuart Island (opposite Bellwood Park) is also an off-leash dog walking zone, so pollution found in the area could come from several potential sources.

Beverly Gibbs from Nambucca Riverwatch, a group which regularly tests water at Bellwood Park, told NOTA the area’s faecal coliform results ruled out an ongoing problem with sewage overflow.

“We don’t have any concerns there,” she said, explaining that monthly testing indicated very low numbers of faecal coliforms and high percentages of dissolved oxygen – making the water suitable for aquatic life.

“We have more concerns about (the Nambucca River at) Park Street, Bowraville where we found extremely high levels of faecal coliforms (more than three times what is considered a safe limit) on our January testing.”

Waterwatch NSW’s webpage, where water testing carried out by the Nambucca Riverwatch volunteer group is logged, indicated the Park Street site also tested high for sewage in October 2024.

“It’s impossible to tell what exactly caused that,” Ms Gibbs explained.

“High faecal coliforms indicate the presence of faeces but could be from any mammal,” she said.

As for Bellwood Park, it seems that locals are tired of free-loading campers who leave the area less beautiful than they found it.

“If they are going to enjoy our Valley, the least they can do is keep it clean and use the amenities provided,” one dog-walker to Stuart Island told NOTA.

“I mean, there is a toilet there, less than 100 metres away,” she said.

By Ned COWIE