Council’s Sewerage System
Kyogle Council operates three separate sewerage systems to service the villages of Kyogle, Bonalbo and Woodenbong. In recent years, we have carried out upgrades to provide a higher level of treatment and we are also continually investigating the expansion of sewerage services to the smaller villages.
Residents living within the urban village areas of Kyogle, Bonalbo & Woodenbong may make application for a domestic connection to Council’s Urban Sewerage System. The application form can be found on Council’s Forms and Applications webpage – link to page here
All our sewage treatment plants treat water to a tertiary level and operate under licence from the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) which sets standards for the treated water returned to the environment from the plant. Each system holds a separate Environmental Protection Licence issued under the PEO Act, 1997. These are:
- The Kyogle Sewerage System – Licence Number 832
- The Bonalbo Sewerage System – Licence Number 833
- The Woodenbong Sewerage System – Licence Number 834
We have an obligation under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 to publish monitoring data collected according to the environment protection licence requirements within 14 days of results being available. Each licence includes specific monitoring and compliance conditions. Most of the conditions deal with the quality of treated effluent being re-used or released into the water cycle.
To view the published environmental monitoring data for Council’s three sewerage systems, click here
Trade Waste Dischargers
Sewerage systems are generally designed to cater for waste from domestic sources that are essentially of predictable strength and quality. Council can accept trade waste into its sewerage systems as a service to businesses and industry.
Discharging liquid trade waste without a approval is an offence. Non-residential customers who discharge or wish to discharge certain types of liquid trade waste to Council’s sewerage systems are required to obtain an approval to discharge liquid trade waste and comply with certain specific pre-treatment and operational requirements in accordance with Council’s Liquid Trade Waste Policy which may be downloaded below.
Three Villages Sewerage Investigation
The Tabulam, Mallanganee, and Wiangaree Visions of Village Life Master Plans identified a desire for the villages to be provided with a reticulated sewerage system. Council was successful in securing $675,000 (75%) towards a project value of $900,000 under the NSW Government’s Safe and Secure Water Program (SSWP), for the detailed design for the three sewerage systems to service the villages.
Council engaged the services of the NSW Public Works Advisory (PWA) to undertake an options assessment in close consultation with the NSW State Government regulatory bodies and funding partners. The options for the provision of sewage treatment plant (STP) and treated effluent disposal/reuse methods for the villages of Mallanganee, Tabulam and Wiangaree were evaluated based on a review of the following elements:
- Population and loading projections;
- Reuse of treated effluent by irrigation of farmland or Council owned recreational areas;
- Water quality modelling effluent disposal via waterways;
- STP site assessment;
- Treatment options; and
- Costs.
Based on the outcomes of the assessment of treatment and effluent management options, a standard 260 Equivalent Person (EP) intermittently decanted extended aeration (IDEA) Sewage Treatment Plan (STP) was adopted as the preferred treatment option for the 3 villages. A 25-day maturation pond for helminth control will be included in the STP design, and provision for treated effluent storage is included to allow for a range of potential reuse opportunities in each village.
The current Long Term Financial Plan (LTFP) includes a provisional sum of $9 million in 2025/26 for construction of the three sewerage schemes, subject to 75% external funding being secured. The Options Report provides an initial estimate of $24 million for the construction of the three sewerage schemes. This estimate will be further refined as the detailed design process progresses, and will be included in the next review of the LTFP.
PWA have now been engaged to undertake the detailed design for all three villages. This work commenced in November 2022 and is expected to be completed by April 2024.
The Options Report was endorsed by Council at their 10 October 2022 Ordinary Meeting. To view the report, follow this link.