Duncan Dey , Main Arm
There is controversy over one aspect of an experiment that Council is commencing on the sewer system of Mullumbimby. Sewers were installed in Mullum in the 1960s with criticism at the time, and since, that the installation is faulty.
Figures are collected on the ratio of actual town sewage versus infiltration and inflow of stormwater during and following rain (as volumes per day). In new sewer systems, a ratio of 1:4 is anticipated. In old systems, 1:8 is common. In Mullum, 1:16 occurs regularly. Our system is very broken!
In 2018 Council proposed to identify the worst-performing sectors of Mullumbimby and find out why they performed badly.
Controversy has arisen over which sewage collection system should be used. If the project is halted it could take months or years before a decision is made on how to move forward.
Don’t hold up the resolution of the inflow/infiltration problem while the type of sewage collection system is considered. The issues can be considered in parallel. Even if a ‘wrong’ system is installed now, it won’t matter because that wrong system to 20 houses can be replaced with the ‘right’ one in the eventual roll-out to hundreds of houses.