Raw sewerage pouring into the ocean off Sydney for the past week at the rate of 150-million gallons a day has polluted miles of beaches along Australia's largest city and created a serious health risk. The cause is a prolonged strike by employees of the Sydney Water Board which has crippled the operation of sewerage treatment works in the city.

Nearly 12,000 men stopped work to protest the dismissal of two colleagues. The strike has since spread to other areas along Australia's eastern coastline.

From many points like Malabar, untreated sewerage is pouring unchecked into the sea and coming in along miles of beaches. Sewerage has overflowed blocked water mains and medical authorities have warned that outbreaks of gastro-enteritis and hepatitis are likely if the situation gets out of control.

Many suburbs in Sydney's vast urban complex are without household water supplies. Water mains have burst and strikers refuse to repair them. Families are carting water in buckets and basins from taps working in nearby parks to maintain home requirements.

It's the second major strike by water board employees within twelve months but the pollution this time is the worst ever seen in Sydney. The parties are before a Conciliation Court in an attempt to resolve the dispute.