Byron Shire Council determines the policy for sewage treatment for the shire. This is not the prerogative of the Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation (NRRC).
Brunswick Valley Sewage Treatment Plant (BVSTP) is designed to treat 3,800kl/day of sewage, not stormwater. The current daily dry weather inflow at BVSTP varies between 1,400kl/day and 1,800kl/day. The previous elected Byron Council implemented a five-year investigation of the inflow infiltration (I/I) problem occurring in the Mullumbimby sewer gravity mains collection system and the stormwater collection system. A company that specialised in this field and also relining existing gravity mains thus solving the I/I problem.
The five-year period is up and the I/I still remains; this is very visible during rain events in Mullumbimby and the substantial increase of the daily inflow into BVSTP. Five years with no improvement to the existing problem.
Council’s water and recycling division (W&R) is persisting with their plan to close Ocean Shores Sewage Treatment Plant (OSSTP) and pipe the sewage from OSSTP across Brunswick Valley to the Mullumbimby plant. Ocean Shores STP also has infiltration problems which are obvious in the inflow increase during rain events. OSSTP’s capacity is 1,600kl/day.
The current design concept of BVSTP is a biological reduction. These plants depend on their hydraulic load remaining below their design capacity to operate effectively. The extra load that will be transferred from OSSTP during dry weather risks adversely affecting the hydraulic load at BVSTP, during rain events it will most definitely overload the BVSTP’s hydraulic design capacity.
There now is the proposed Saddle Road development. If this is approved the sewage from this development will go to BVSTP.
The Water & Sewer Advisory Committee has not discussed or been asked to discuss these issues and the effect it will have on the BVSTP. Why not?
It is time the elected council asked questions of W&R: why after five years of investigations by a company retained by W&R to fix the I/I problem in Mullumbimby has nothing changed? How does W&R intend BVSTP to cope with the increased hydraulic load and still operate satisfactorily?
