Raw sewage is far from sexy, but dealing with it is critical to public and environmental health. If in doubt imagine the impact of raw sewage pouring into the Brunswick River.
The Brunswick Valley Sewerage Treatment Plant (BVSTP) was designed for an Average Dry Weather Flow (ADWF) of 3,800kL/day. Any inflows above the design capacity has consequences on the quality of treated effluent discharging into the Brunswick River.
The recent ‘rain bomb’ saw inflows into the STP rising to 20,546.70, or 5.41 times above design.
The sewage collection system is a totally separate system to the stormwater system and the stormwater should not be able to infiltrate the gravity mains. Neither should surface water be able to infiltrate the gravity mains to the STP. No matter what the weather conditions, the collection system to the STP should be a closed system. Consequently, these recent inflows are clear evidence of the scale of the inflow/ infiltration problems into the sewer mains, and their poor condition.
Years ago, contractors abandoned any notion of relining the worst parts of the business area of Mullumbimby because the gravity mains were in such poor condition they couldn’t be relined.
Council is currently contracting to ‘reline damaged gravity sewer mains’ in seven sections in the business area. Council states, ‘Rectification works on the gravity sewer network are currently underway in Mullumbimby’s CBD area. The highest risk assets, as identified by the assessments that were undertaken in mid-2019 are being prioritised’. However, each of the seven areas appears to be on the fringes of and on higher ground relative to where the worse sections of the mains are located!
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
