Politics and the problems of the River Torrens : Box 42

Although there is a long history of local and state government responses to the environmental problems of the River Torrens, the last few years have seen an almost unprecedented level of government intervention in this area. The repeated closure of Torrens Lake through the 1990s and the early years of the 21st century as aconsequence of algal blooms may have prepared the ground, but the catalyst for this outburst of political activity was the publication in May 2006 of a report on the inorganic pollution of the sediments of the River Torrens. This revealed the extent of the degradation ofthe river, particularly along its urban reaches.