Home Your environment

Printer friendly version

Sewage Management

In 1998 the NSW Government introduced a package of local government regulatory reforms and guidelines to enable more effective council regulation and performance supervision of small domestic sewage management facilities.

The Septic Safe Program was introduced to provide support and supervision to landowners and councils as they implement and undertake their respective sewage management responsibilities. 

Why do we need Septic Safe?

Small domestic sewage management facilities or on-site sewage management systems include all types of human waste storage facilities. They include pump-out systems, sewage ejection units, septic tanks, aerated wastewater treatment systems, composting toilets, pit toilets, wastewater filtration systems, effluent soak-away trenches, mounds and irrigation areas, greywater treatment systems, greywater application systems and domestic grease traps.

Failing on-site sewage management systems release dangerous levels of sewage pollution to the environment. Sewage pollution causes contamination of water, which can spread disease and lead to environmental degradation. There are approximately 300,000 on-site sewage management systems across NSW and the cumulative impact of effluent, sometimes from thousands of systems, is a critical problem. Sewage pollution is evident in metropolitan, suburban and rural residential areas, in unsewered rural villages and in environmentally sensitive areas, especially near waterways and in drinking water catchments.

With advances in the performance of on-site sewage management systems there is no reason for the community to accept failing systems. However, research shows that many people don't understand how to manage and maintain their systems.

Septic Safe is a statewide partnership between the NSW Government and local councils to address this issue. Septic Safe provides effective education, support and supervision to landowners, so that their systems operate in accordance with the health and environmental performance standards, and to monitor and manage the cumulative impact of sewage pollution in and across local government areas. 

Download Septic Safe guide by Clicking here

For further information please contact Council's Senior Compliance Officer on 65401137.

© 2008 Upper Hunter Shire Council
This page: http://upperhunter.local-e.nsw.gov.au/environment/1949.html