On-Site Sewage Management
On-Site Sewage Management
The protection of the environment is a core function of Council’s charter as established within the Local Government Act 1993. Within the identified framework of environmental actions contained within Councils State of the Environment (SOE) Report, the protection of the water quality within existing waterways is identified as a priority of Council’s environmental management program. To enable this goal to be achieved, it has been necessary to identify potential impacts upon our waterways and develop programs to be adopted within Council’s Management Plan that have a water quality focus.
The On-Site Sewage Management Program has been developed to assist with the management of an identified impact upon our waterways, the disposal of domestic sewage on-site. In 1999, the State Government introduced amendments to the Local Government Act 1993 to provide a framework for the management of this potential problem. The legislation includes requirements for obtaining the approval of Council to install a system, and more importantly, to operate the system. The new requirement for the approval to operate a system has presented a challenge to both Council and the community within Blacktown that has such a system operating on their property.
The Blacktown local government area incorporates urban and rural areas in which not all properties are provided with a reticulated sewer system. Within the un-sewered areas it is estimated that in excess of 2,000 on-site sewage management facilities exist. These include a range of facilities from older septic tanks with an absorption trench or pump-out disposal to modern aerated wastewater treatment systems (AWTS) with on-site irrigation.
As with other environmental programs undertaken by Council, the mechanisms established to facilitate the implementation of the On-Site Sewage Management Program must establish a blend of achieving sustainable outcomes in regards to the environmental assets of Blacktown and providing the time and methods for the community to respond to any resultant impositions.
In July 2000, Council formally adopted an “On-Site Sewage Management Strategy” the purpose of which is to assist Council to assess, regulate and manage the selection, design, installation, operation and maintenance of single household and commercial on-site sewage management facilities.