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About our sewerage services

Bega Valley Shire Council is responsible for the effective and efficient delivery of sewerage services to the community. Council collects sewage and liquid trade waste from customers and transports it to where it is treated and then disposes of it or recycles it.

We are responsible for the effective and efficient delivery of sewerage services to the community. Our sewerage systems collect sewage and liquid trade waste from customers and transport it to where it is treated and then dispose of it to the environment or recycle it by irrigation.

We adhere to a large number of regulations, guidelines and standards for sewerage service provision, including: 

Ten different sewerage systems in the Bega Valley Shire

The Bega Valley Shire covers an area of approximately 6,052 square kilometres and is one of the largest coastal shires in NSW. There are ten sewerage systems that provide sewerage services to eighteen towns, villages and localities within this area. These systems are located at:

  1. Eden
  2. Merimbula-Pambula
  3. Tura Beach
  4. Tathra
  5. Bega
  6. Bermagui-Wallaga Lake
  7. Wolumla
  8. Candelo
  9. Kalaru
  10. Cobargo

Population receiving sewerage servicesImage of Tathra Beach.

Sewerage services are provided to approximately 21,000 people and 35,500 people during peak holiday times. There are approximately 11,500 residential properties and 850 non-residential properties connected to one of our sewerage systems.

Objectives and challenges

Important sewerage service objectives for Bega Valley Shire Council are to:

  • Develop ecologically sustainable sewerage systems that have environmental impacts that are acceptable to the community
  • Manage environmental and public health risks to an acceptable level
  • Provide safe sewerage services to areas with town water, where demand exists and where financially feasible
  • Provide pricing which is equitable and allows for operations and future infrastructure needs
  • Provide appropriate and qualified staff to deliver services safely
  • Provide effective management of liquid trade waste

Achieving these objectives requires planning, investigations, capital works programs and operational activities.

Our day-to-day challenges as a local water utility providing sewerage services include:

  • Transporting sewage near sensitive waterways supporting aquaculture as well as primary and secondary recreational uses
  • High loads on sewage treatment plants during tourist seasons and rain events
  • Effluent disposal and reuse in coastal environments with high environmental and community values
  • Escalation of capital works and operation costs and the impact of these on service affordability in a shire with a low customer base
  • High level of energy consumption due to local topography and membrane bioreactor (MBR) sewage treatment plants.

Managing Bega Valley’s future sewerage services

Our major planning issues for the provision of future sewerage services include:

  • Collection system upgrades to reduce the occurrence of sewage overflows due to wet weather inflow and infiltration
  • Treatment plant upgrades to improve effluent quality for better meeting receiving environment requirements
  • Effluent disposal and reuse system upgrades, particularly at Merimbula and Bermagui
  • Population growth and increasing sewage loads

New capital works projects to meet future needs include:

  • Connect Bega Cheese in the North Bega area to the reticulated sewerage system at Bega
  • New effluent disposal system to replace existing shore-based outfall Merimbula STP

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