The towns of Mullumbimby and Brunswick Heads are presently served by two sewerage treatment plants (STPs) Mullumbimby STP and Brunswick Heads STP. Both Mullumbimby STP and Brunswick Heads STP are presently subject to loadings that approach and, on occasion exceed, their design capacity due to continual population growth. Both STPs are more than 30 years old and are approaching the end of their useful life.
The Brunswick Area Sewerage Upgrade involves augmenting the existing sewerage system for Mullumbimby and Brunswick Heads. This includes the decommissioning of the existing Mullumbimby and Brunswick Heads Sewerage Treatment Plants (STPs) and the transfer of sewerage loads from their respective catchments to a new STP to be constructed at Vallances Road.
The Brunswick River Land to the left forms part of the Vallance Road Site. This riparian zone will be revegetated.
Council resolved at its ordinary meeting on the 5 December 2006 to approve the Brunswick Area Sewerage Augmentation Scheme.
As part of this scheme a significant portion of the Vallance Road site is to be rehabilitated including the above Salt March
It is anticipated that the Mullumbimby - Brunswick Heads Sewerage Treatment Plant will be commissioned in late 2009.
The Brunswick Area Upgrade has the following benefits.
Expansion of the Brunswick Area Reuse Scheme. This will involve the construction of effluent storage, effluent pumping stations, transfer mains and in the future an effluent polishing plant. The scheme will initially service the existing reuse scheme at Main Arm, but has the ability to expand and incorporate sites at South Mullumbimby, the Vallances Road site and in the long term urban reuse in Mullumbimby. Potential also exists for the transfer of effluent from Ocean Shores STP for use in the Brunswick Area Reuse Scheme.
Effluent Reuse at Main Arm
Updated 29 November 2006
The two (2) year commissioning period for the new Byron Bay Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) which commenced on 25 November 2005 has now passed the half way point.
The STP together with the constructed wetlands are performing above expectations and delivering recycled water to very high standards to the various reuse opportunities in Byron Bay and Belongil Creek.
Byron Bay Wetlands at Sunset
Council was sufficiently satisfied with the performance of the sewerage upgrade works that it resolved on 27 June 2006 to allow the new STP to accept additional load which removed the moratorium on development in Byron Bay and Suffolk Park.
Council received a prestigious National Local Government Award for Natural Resource Management Planning and Implementation for the Byron Bay Integrated Water Management Reserve at a ceremony in Canberra on 27 November 2006.
Fact Sheets
Updated January 2007
The upgrade of Bangalow sewage treatment plant (STP) is well underway with site construction work programmed to commence in February 2007. The contract for this work was awarded to Tyco Australia Pty Ltd, trading as Water Technology Australia for $4.7 Million in November 2006. Water Technology Australia are a specialised water and wastewater design and construction contractor with head office based in Adelaide but also currently working on the Nightcap Stage 2 Water Treatment Plant upgrade for Rous Water and the Murwillumbah STP Tertiary Treatment Facility for Tweed Shire Council.
A detailed design phase has been completed since the November contract award ensuring that environmental and sustainability issues are addressed and Council requirements are being catered for prior to construction commencing. Construction of the Bangalow STP is scheduled for completion by July 2007 and there will no disruption to sewerage services during this period.
The new treatment plant is a membrane bio-reactor design that utilises normal biological activity for the treatment of the sewage and then micro filtration through membrane straws as a final polishing process. The final effluent will have significantly less nutrients than the current plant and will improve water quality in Maori creek. Some of the other benefits from the new plant shall be low energy usage, automated control, and small land requirements with minimal odour and noise production.
In addition to lowering nutrients in the effluent, the impact to the creek is further lessened by irrigating the treated water on to the newly commissioned reuse scheme on the adjacent property. The reuse scheme is currently using between a quarter to one third of average daily inflows with the balance of flows being directed to Maori creek. The environmental impact of the reuse scheme is currently being monitored and the reuse amount will be slowly increased with the ultimate aim being 100% dry weather reuse in the future.
Riparian zone planting along Maori creek is also ongoing and a 25m zone each side of the creek on the treatment plant property will soon be planted out with native trees. The new treatment plant and the reuse scheme will ensure the sustainable future of sewage treatment for the Bangalow village. For further details about this project please contact the Director of Water and Recycling Services, Phil Warner.
Photo of the newly commissioned reuse irrigation scheme
Council accepted a design and construct tender for the augmentation of the Bangalow Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) on 26 September 2006.
The design of the new STP has commenced and construction is expected to start on site in early 2007. This project features the new and innovative membrane treatment technology.
Council has planted over 800 bamboo plants and installed a fully automatic recycled water irrigation system on land adjacent to the new Bangalow STP. It is anticipated that about one third of all dry weather flows to the STP will be recycled on these bamboo plants.
Bamboo Plants