MUCH of Sydney’s water and sewage system is more than 100 years old; the system was built for a Sydney population of 3 MILLION People! Not 5.5 … 9 or 10 Million People …
HOW CAN SYDNEY WATER ADDRESS OVERDEVELOPMENT?
The Tsunami of sewage is not confined to Castle Hill … it is a problem across Sydney … sewer waste pours into the Sydney Harbour water catchment, and into the Harbour; it has made its way into the storm water system and onto Coogee Beach through Coogee’s sewage system …
–the situation was worse after heavy rainfall with sewers overflowing into the storm water system
-posing real risks to public health
WaterNSW has also revealed that housing developments built too close to pipelines and canals in Western Sydney have:
-resulted in impacts to the water quality (contamination)
-increasing urbanisation in western and southwestern Sydney resulted in increased pressure on the integrity of critical water supply infrastructure; namely the Warragamba Pipeline and the Upper Canal
It is investigating “water augmentation strategies” to service the booming population …
that means a Water Treatment Plant, with a raw water pump station and treated water pump station …
MARCH 2019 in ‘The Shire’ …
“You cannot imagine what kinds of things are floating down our driveway and under our house – condoms, baby wipes, poo, all in a huge stream of sewerage water.
“We put this down to the overdevelopment in the shire and the fact that infrastructure has not been updated to cope with the extra sewer.“
‘Tsunami of sewage’ pours into Sydney man’s pool after heavy downpour
By Kevin Nguyen
PHOTO: Steve Fender is looking for answers from Sydney Water. (ABC News: Kevin Nguyen)
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A man who had a “tsunami of sewage” pour into his swimming pool during the weekend’s heavy rainfall says he is disgusted by the response from Sydney Water.
Key points:
- Sewage poured into Steve Fender’s pool, garage, workshop and under his house
- Sydney Water apologised and offered to help with clean-up costs
- A residential tower has been proposed for the nearby metro station
PHOTO: Flooding on Garden Street in North Narrabeen. (ABC News: Dale Drinkwater)
Sydney was battered by torrential rain which caused flash flooding and widespread power outages.
Castle Hill carpenter Steve Fender said stormwater mixed into a sewage line running around his backyard, which then overflowed his 50,000-litre pool on Sunday.
Sydney Water told the ABC this was not supposed to happen.
Mr Fender said the sewage also poured into his workshop, garage and the space under his house.
“I initially thought it was dirty water,” he said.
“It wasn’t until I looked over the fence that I could see it coming out of the sewer pipes.
“It was putrid, it smelt heavily of urine and the next day when it was almost 30 degrees [Celsius] you couldn’t even go out there.”
PHOTO: Steve Fender’s pool overflowed with sewage on Sunday. (Supplied: Steven Fender)
Despite raising concerns it was a serious health hazard, Mr Fender said Sydney Water only agreed to come out today to help with the clean-up and maintenance.
In the interim, Mr Fender drained and dumped about two buckets of chlorine into the pool which helped with the smell.
But a layer of contaminated water remains under his house and a repugnant odour has seeped through the floor and into his living room.
“There’s about 18 houses worth of sewer in that one spot,” he said.
Sydney Water apologised to Mr Fender and offered to assist him with costs associated with uninsured loss and clean-up for the pool and garden.
PHOTO: Steve Fender said the smell was “putrid”. (ABC News: Kevin Nguyen)
*Mr Fender said he was still “absolutely disgusted” by the delayed response and questioned the viability of housing developments down the road.
A residential tower with up to 300 apartments has been proposed for the nearby metro station.
A Sydney Water spokesperson said it was “working as quickly as possible to respond” to the 6,750 requests for help it had received since the weekend.
*It said crews investigated the overflow near Mr Fender’s Castle Hill home and “found a choke caused by wet wipes had significantly contributed to the overflow experienced by these customers”.
“In Sydney, the wastewater and stormwater systems are separate,” a Sydney Water spokesperson said
.PHOTO: A “tsunami of sewage” dumped into Steve Fender’s pool. (ABC News: Kevin Nguyen)
“However, when it rains, stormwater can enter the wastewater system.”
The regulator said the systems could mix in several ways, including “illegal connections” or faults with wastewater pipes.
Sydney Water said it would roll out new “water and wastewater services to keep pace with rezoning of the land for new housing”.
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