Residents in Melbourne's west are devastated about a significant chemical spill that has left dead fish through local waterways and may have made it all the way to Port Phillip Bay.
The chemical spill occurred last Monday and came from an industrial area in Laverton North after a factory fire.
Environmental authorities believe about 12,000 to 13,000 litres of surfactant — a type of chemical often found in detergent or soap — was released into the waterways via stormwater drains.
The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has started a formal investigation, probing just how the spill occurred.
It does know pollution made its way into Cherry Creek, and then followed the creek's water flows east to Cherry Lake, a large lake used for fishing and recreational activities in Altona.
Here, fish and eels have been seen floating dead in large numbers right across the lake's surface for days.
Local environmentalist Diana Rice has been monitoring the lake.
"It's an appalling environmental disaster," she said.
She was critical of how the spill had been managed, saying it took days for booms to be put in place where the creek's reached the lake to stop the spread of pollution.
"I am surprised there weren't more swift attempts to mitigate the pollutant we were told about," she said.
She said locals were worried about how much wildlife would be affected.
"We know there are dead eels, which are native," she said.
"We know there are also rats, pelicans, there's other invertebrate aquatic life [and] who knows what their fate has been?"
Spill could take weeks to clear
Ms Rice has also been worried about just how far the pollutions has spread.
Cherry Creek continues on past the lake, and eventually meets Port Phillip Bay right near the popular Altona dog beach.
The EPA's regional manager for the western Melbourne area, Steve Lansdell, told the ABC it had officers out on Monday testing water along that stretch of creek.
He said there had been reports of dead fish on the beach.
The ABC observed dead fish washed up on the beach on Monday afternoon.
Community members are being asked to notify the EPA of any dead fish they see along Cherry Creek or on the beach.
Mr Lansdell defended how the spill had been managed, saying Melbourne Water and the EPA had been working together to manage the situation.
"With the incident, we were straight onto it, working with a lot of agencies as we do," he said.
"It's been a good team effort."
For now, environmental authorities are asking people not to fish at Cherry Lake or let their dogs swim in the lake.
Many residents told the ABC they wanted answers about what caused the spill and what was being done to fix it.
Altona resident Tyson Bezzina said the incident had been upsetting for residents.
"It's going to affect the area and it's going to affect how people use the lake."
The EPA estimates it could take weeks for the water to be cleared of the pollution.
