CUTTING edge technology which converts wastewater for irrigation will be used to alleviate Wangaratta's sewer capacity problem, and pave the way for a 248–lot subdivision on Clarkes Lane.
Under a new plan before council, the same technology currently used at the MCG to convert wastewater into Class A recycled water will allow it to be used for irrigation of Targoora Park and Cathedral College's playing fields or fed back into the sewer system at a time when capacity allows.
On top of a proposed 248–lot new housing development, another 100 lots in the South Wangaratta's residential growth corridor will be able to tap into the proposed waste water treatment facility.
Tract Consultants, Robert Luxmoore, North East Survey Design and Integral Delta have been working with North East Water and the Rural City of Wangaratta to create the state–of–the–art above ground processing facility, a plan that will go before the Rural City of Wangaratta Council at the December meeting next Tuesday.
The innovative proposal has been prompted by North East Water's current restraints on new subdivisions in Wangaratta due to the town's sewerage capacity issues, with the end goal to construct a new large–scale treatment plant.
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As an interim measure, the authority has another solution for developers to install 150–kilolitre underground tanks that will store waste prior to release into the sewer network during off–peak times.
Nevan Wadeson, director town planning at Tract Consultants, said given the effluent supply issues North East Water has had, the company saw some initiatives that would help satisfy the land supply problems that council and the community has been experiencing.
There are two sides to the proposal – the rezoning of land to General Residential Zone and also a planning permit for 248 residential lots, which will be subdivided on the subject land.
The new lots and dwellings on Clarkes Lane will be serviced by the "noiseless and odourless" wastewater treatment plant (25x60 metres in size) and located near the Wenhams Lane Reserve to the north.
A five–megalitre water storage located close by will assist in holding the Class A water that can be used for irrigation or fed back into the sewer system.
Integral Delta strategic infrastructure consult David Hunter explained there is a constraint on sewer in Wangaratta and that's primarily due to infiltration that comes into sewer during rainfall.
He said if sewers don't have capacity for wet weather, which is what they're designed for, there is a result of sewage spill into the local waterways.
"North East Water has put a cap on sewage unless you can find a way to ameliorate their wet weather flows," Mr Hunter said.
"In this scenario they've asked us to detain sewage flows for up to 18 days which is a fairly long period of time.
"To resolve the issue, we put forward a proposal where we actually treat wastewater and convert into Class A recycled water."
Mr Hunter explained that Class A recycled water is the best quality recycled water you can get and it's used in major subdivisions in Australia's capital cities and accepted widely as a source of alternate water.
"The opportunity is to take a waste product, convert that into usable quality water, which then replaces the need for ground water or potable water to irrigate that space," he said.
"It will create a green, open space all year round, which has been shown through many studies around the world to be of significant benefit to communities who have access to it through physical and mental health.
"Green open spaces are also a mitigation for global warming, as they create cool areas, reduce the temperature around the neighbourhood and it becomes a carbon sink because every time the local landscape grows, it's absorbing carbon."
Mr Hunter said as the advancement of technology in the use of energy and mechanical systems, along with chemical reactions to create clean water are now highly sophisticated, it paves the way to treat wastewater with an extremely small environmental footprint.
"The process of wastewater treatment involves the blowing of air through all the pathogens of the wastewater and the air is then managed through a filtration and scrubbing system," he said.
"When the air is released to atmosphere it goes through a carbon filter and you can't smell anything that comes out of the treatment plant.
"The plant will be completely enclosed and it has acoustic attenuation, so it's a treatment plant, sitting in a park and people will see it as a screened landscaped area, and "they won't hear it and they won't smell it."
Proponents plan to set up a public forum early next year to liaise with the community about the project.
Solutions being sought, says NEW managing director
NORTH East Water (NEW) says it is continuing to look at solutions to Wangaratta's wastewater issues.
NEW managing director Jo Murdoch has provided the following statement to the Wangaratta Chronicle.
"We are continuing to proactively work with the City of Wangaratta and developers to progress wastewater solutions to address capacity issues in the sewer network and accommodate growth.
We're focussing on both short term solutions and long term master planning to service Wangaratta's growing communities for generations to come.
Short term solutions include the installation of small scale storage tanks and pump stations.
We've also been open to exploring innovative ideas from developers including turning wastewater into high quality recycled water to 'green' public open spaces.
In times of drought, using recycled water for watering open spaces helps reduce the impact on drinking water supplies.
All proposals by developers require detailed engineering and feasibility assessments, costings and engagement ahead of any approvals.
The time required to work through the development approvals process is dependent on the location and proposed size, and we continue to ask developers to engage with us in the early stages of any planning."
