Alan Dickens, Brunswick Heads
Byron Shire Council’s meeting on December 15 will be a test of the newly elected councillors when they discuss the report from the Community Advisory Committee for Water and Recycling. Already, according to the agenda for the committee meeting held on December 1, W&R management are introducing strategies for investigation that have already been completed.
Smoke testing of the gravity mains in Mullumbimby has been done, identifying deep infiltration as the major source of infiltration into the gravity mains. Reports have been done and submitted. Where are they? The earthenware pipes cannot be relined, a fact that was reported on by independent contractors specialising in this field who took CCTV images of the gravity mains in 2003. Where is their report?
Brunswick Valley Sewerage Treatment Plant (BVSTP) is now accepted in the report as hydraulically overloaded during wet weather. The reuse of treated effluent has failed.
Management is now advocating a reduction in load on Ocean Shores STP (OSSTP) by piping sewerage from OSSTP to BVSTP. What logic underpins this given the problems with the failures in this state of the art system? Surely this has to be a error.
The suggestion that a pipe be laid from OSSTP to BVSTP which will transfer effluent for the Mullumbimby Reuse system makes no sense at all. Since the major consumers of the reuse being generated by the BVSTP have not used the reuse for three years.
Why would BSC not introduce reuse into Ocean Shores and the surrounding towns?
The time has come for and independent investigation to be commissioned into the performance of BSC W&R management. The drain on ratepayers’ contributions cannot be allowed to continue without there being accountability.
