A strong fuel-like odour affecting the Yarra River at Flinders Walk is being tracked under the streets of the Melbourne CBD. Reports of an oily sheen on the surface of the water have been coming in from the community to EPA over the last two days.

As officers from EPA Victoria, Melbourne Water and Melbourne City Council try to find the source of the spill, they are doing a ‘drain chase’ where they go along city streets opening drains to see if the odour is stronger or weaker.

“Under Melbourne is a very complex drain system. Somewhere, a fuel has spilled into that system finally exiting into the Yarra at Flinders Walk,” said EPA West  Metro Regional Manager Steve Lansdell.

“Trying to find the source means checking drainage maps and going from drain to drain cover and literally using our noses to see where the odour stops and what is happening in the CBD area that could be the cause. It’s time consuming especially in a built up area like this, but it’s the best way to sniff out the problem.

“We’ve had a couple of these incidents in recent weeks, so if anyone has information that might help us track down the source, we’d love to hear from them.”

If you have information that could help, please call EPA on 1300 372 842 or contact@epa.vic.gov.au