Oberon Council wishes to invite members of the community to attend a consultation meeting on Tuesday 28 November from 6.00pm to 7.30pm at the Oberon RSL Club, Cnr Dudley and Oberon Streets, Oberon.

The meeting will focus on a proposal to reticulate East Oberon with sewer. The meeting will be open

to all members of the community and East Oberon residents are particularly encouraged to attend. Council staff will present the options study and will be available to answer questions.

Please RSVP to Rebecca Burgess on 6329 8141 or rebecca.burgess@oberon.nsw.gov.au by 21 November 2017.

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OBERON SEWERAGE PROJECT – COMMUNITY CONSULTATION MEETING

1 OBERON SEWERAGE PROJECT

1.1 What is it?

In mid-2017 Oberon Council commenced the Oberon Sewerage

project.

The project comprises two major components:

n Upgrade the Oberon Sewage Treatment Plant (STP).

n Provide reticulated sewerage to unsewered properties

in East Oberon.

1.2 How Much will it Cost?

The budget for the project is $9.9 million. The State government

is contributing 50% of this cost through the Water Security for the

Regions funding program.

1.3 How is it Delivered?

Oberon Council is managing the project using internal and external

resources.

Planning and design activities are being performed by experienced

consulting engineers, and the construction will be carried out by

contractors that will be selected by a competitive tendering process.

All major contracts will be procured through a tender process.

1.4 Project Stages

Investigation reports were completed for East Oberon

and for the STP upgrade. Council is considering the

recommendations in these reports. If Council resolves

to proceed, the next stages will be:

n Concept design.

n Environmental assessment.

n Detailed design.

n Construction and commissioning.

2 BACKGROUND

2.1 East Oberon Sewerage

Most residential and commercial properties in

Oberon are connected to the Oberon centralised

network of sewerage pipes, transferring the

wastewater to the STP for treatment and disposal

(refer to the STP section 2.2).

Some 50 residential properties in East Oberon are

not connected to the sewerage system, rely on

septic tanks for sewage treatment, and absorption

trenches for disposal of the septic tanks effluent.

This component of the project is the provision of a

reticulated sewerage system to the properties in

East Oberon. The figure (above) shows the two

areas included in the project.

I would like to introduce to you the first in a series of newsletters

designed to keep you fully informed in relation to the Oberon Sewer System Upgrade. This is a major project and as part of this upgrade council is considering the proposed “East Oberon Sewerage Project”.

I urge you all attend the first scheduled Community Consultation Meeting. At this meeting staff will fully explain the overall sewerage project with a particular focus on the proposed East Oberon component. Council is committed to community engagement and the information provided through the community meeting and the newsletters will allow ratepayers to make informed comment around both aspects of the project.

Kathy Sajowitz - Mayor

I would like to introduce to you

from theMayor

East Oberon Proposed Sewerage Scheme Extension

2.2 Oberon STP

Oberon Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) was

constructed in the early 1960s. The STP shown

(right), receives and treats wastewater to a

standard that complies with the licence issued by

the Environment Protection Authority (EPA). The

treated water is discharged to Fish River.

The EPA advised Oberon Council in early 2017 that

the STP does not comply with the contemporary

water quality standards, and that the EPA plans to

introduce more stringent licence conditions in order

to protect the aquatic environment of Fish River.

Based on EPA requirements and considering the

age of the STP, Council embarked on replacing the

outdated existing STP with a new treatment plant.

3 EAST OBERON DESCRIPTION

Note: Description of the STP component will be included in subsequent newsletters.

3.1 The Benefits

A reticulated sewerage system is an essential infrastructure service for residents of urban areas. With the

assistance of the State government, many villages and fringe urban areas in NSW have been provided

with reticulated sewerage, replacing on-site sewerage systems (typically septic tanks). In the last 20 years,

sewerage services were extended to additional 300,000 people in regional NSW. In 2016 some 96.4% of the

population in regional NSW (1.75 million people) were connected to reticulated sewerage system.

The benefits of a reticulated sewerage system are:

n Reduced health risk associated with septic

tanks.

n Higher environmental standards, eliminating

discharge from septic tanks which impact

groundwater and steams.

n Ability to subdivide lots, or to construct

more than one dwelling on the property.

n Eliminating the need to maintain and

manage on-site treatment and disposal

system by the residents.

3.2 The Cost

Homeowners in the service areas will not be required to contribute to the capital cost of the infrastructure.

The cost of the implementing the reticulated sewerage scheme, estimated to be $1.6 million (approximately

$28,500 per property) will be invested by Oberon Council in partnership with the NSW government.

The cost to home owners will be annual sewerage charge, similar to other residents in Oberon. In 2016/17

this charge is $615.

All maintenance costs of the system, including the pumps, are the responsibility of Council.

Future new development, including subdividing blocks, will be required to pay

for the cost of extending the system to the new property, including the cost of a pumping manhole.

Existing Sewage Treatment Plant

3.3 Proposed Sewerage System

The investigation report assessed a number

of technologies available for servicing East

Oberon, and recommended to install a low

pressure sewerage system as the most cost

effective option.

Low pressure sewerage system is the most

popular technology for sewering existing

areas, and many regional councils in NSW

have installed these systems in the last

15 years.

The low pressure system comprises a small

pumping pit in every property to collect the

sewage from the house and pump it to the

sewerage network and to the STP.

The pumping pit is typically less than 1

metre in diameter and will be installed in a

location selected to optimise the connection

of the house plumbing and reduce the

impact on the land use. The pump operates

automatically, and requires no maintenance by

the homeowner. The operation of the pump is

quiet, and the pumping pit is likely to be less

obtrusive than a septic tank.

The pump connects to the house power

supply, and Council will offset the cost of

power from the annual sewerage bill, so that

customers connected to the low pressure

sewerage system pay the same amount as

other residents in Oberon.

Council will be responsible for the maintenance

of the system. Council will keep a number

of reserve pumps and will replace any faulty

pumps with one of the reserve pumps.

For more details about the project please contact

Chris Schumacher, Works & Engineering Director,

Phone 6329 8127, Chris.Schumacher@oberon.nsw.gov.au