Brunswick Area Sewerage Augmentation Scheme

Updated 19 January 2012

Upgrade of the Sewerage System for Mullumbimby and Brunswick Heads

The new Brunswick Valley Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) is expected to be completed by the end of 2010 and fully commissioned by end of 2010. The new STP will be located on Council owned land at the end of Vallances Road in Mullumbimby. The towns of Mullumbimby and Brunswick Heads are presently served by two sewage treatment plants (STPs). These treatment plants are over thirty years old, have aging infrastructure and cannot treat sewage to modern standards.

The new Brunswick Valley STP will ultimately mean better wastewater management practices in the Mullumbimby and Brunswick Heads areas and improved water quality in the Brunswick River estuary.

Three Stages of Construction

The proposed work is the result of ten years of planning and development with a range of agencies. There has been extensive community consultation during this period.

STP Access Road Construction

Construction of the road and access track to the STP was completed in March 2009. Vallances Road has been upgraded for construction and operational traffic and will be designed and constructed to meet Australian Standards.

Sewage Treatment Plant

STP - The construction of the Brunswick Valley STP will commenced in March 2009 and be completed in December 2010. The facilities include construction and operation of a physical, chemical and biological treatment plant and an effluent storage dam. Treated effluent will be available to the Main Arm Irrigation Scheme which currently irrigates treated effluent onto dairy pasture. Council's aim is for at least 80% of the dry weather flows to be reused for irrigation purposes. The STP will only discharge to the river in periods of extended wet weather. Biosolids recycling will also be available to local farms for use as a soil conditioner.

Sewerage Pump Station and STP pipeline

Pump Stations - Two pump stations will be constructed, one at Mullumbimby and one at Brunswick Heads. Construction commenced in April 2009 and will be completed in December 2009. These pump stations utilise current technologies and are located to ensure that there is minimal noise, odour and visual impact.

STP pipelines - Three pipelines are under construction: One from Mullumbimby to the new Brunswick Valley STP, one from Brunswick Heads to new Brunswick Valley STP and one from the new Brunswick Valley STP to the existing Mullumbimby STP to connect with the existing pipeline to the Main Arm Irrigation Scheme. The pipeline back to the existing Mullumbimby STP will be placed in the same trench as Mullumbimby sewage line for much of the distance.

The pipelines will generally traverse Council owned land and cleared grazing land, however some short lengths will travel under the Brunswick River and private properties.

Council will provide further information and opportunities for feedback during the duration of the upgrade.

For further information contact Phil Warner - Director Water and Recycling Management Services 6626 7081 or call the HOTLINE 6626 7321.

Brunswick Heads pipeline construction along Old Pacific Highway

As part of the BASAS scheme, a pipeline will be laid along part of the Old Pacific Highway in Brunswick Heads scheduled for commencement in June 2009. Short delays may be experienced along the pipe route and every attempt will be made to lessen any inconvenience this may cause.

Excavation works will include: security fencing, road works and traffic control, pipe laying, and flushing. Traffic flow along the Old Pacific Highway will be affected from the Sports Fields to Bayside Way. The duration is expected to be for less than two weeks (weather permitting).

Council welcomes your feedback and any concerns you may have. If you would like to discuss anything regarding this work please do not hesitate to contact Council to arrange a meeting at a mutually convenient time and place. Contact Julie Griffin on 6626 7081.

The new STP, known as the Brunswick Area STP, will be located on Council owned land at the end of Vallances Road in Mullumbimby and the whole scheme will be completed at a total cost of approximately $39m. The work is the result of ten years of planning and development with a range of departments and has had extensive community consultation throughout.

The STP will ultimately mean better wastewater management practices in the Mullumbimby and Brunswick area and improved water quality in the Brunswick River estuary.

Existing sewerage systems

The towns of Mullumbimby and Brunswick Heads are presently served by two sewage treatment plants (STPs); Mullumbimby STP and Brunswick heads STP. These STPs have sewage treatment limitations and aging infrastructure. The STPs are over thirty years old, are at their limit and cannot treat to modern standards. The sewerage system at Mullumbimby in particular is limited due to the amount of stormwater entering the system which causes sewer overflows to occur in the Brunswick River during heavy wet weather.

A moratorium on development is in place in Mullumbimby and Brunswick due to these sewage treatment limitations.

Background to the upgrade

In 1998 Council established the Brunswick Valley Catchment Wastewater Steering Committee to represent the community to review previous studies and develop and recommend to Council a preferred wastewater management strategy. The committee formulated a long term wastewater solution for the Brunswick area. This included a sewage management scheme that would cope with population and tourism growth, a system that maximised agricultural re-use opportunities and one that would minimise environmental impacts of effluent releases to the Brunswick River estuary.

In 1999 Byron Shire Council developed a Sewage Management Strategy for Byron Shire. This strategy provided a vision, mission, methodology and guiding principles for wastewater management for the future of the Shire. The guiding principles of the STP proposal included achieving high standards of public health, acquiring community support and approval of regulators, minimising the overall impact on the natural environment and maximising resource utilisation.

The proposed upgrade will have many benefits

The Mullumbimby and Brunswick Heads STPs will be closed down after the new STP is fully operational. A new STP and two new pump stations with pipelines for the transfer of sewage will be built. The new STP will be built on Council land at Vallances Road with the new pump stations to be at Mullumbimby and Brunswick Heads. It is intended that a 10ha wetland system will also be constructed on the Vallances Road site to allow further effluent treatment and storage. The high quality effluent produced by the STP will be available for irrigation use and biosolids will be fully reused for soil remediation on nearby tea tree, cane or dairy farms.

The proposed works will manage sewage in an ecological sustainable way. It will

Minimise the environmental impacts of effluent releases on the Brunswick River
Meet the needs and expectations of existing and future communities.
Protect public health
Provide a new STP and pump stations that will be designed to cope with projected population growth and tourism
Utilise current technology for sewage management to create a high standard of effluent
Maximise reuse opportunities of biosolids and effluent and aim for greater than 80% recycling for irrigation.
Improve Brunswick River health
Enhance the Biodiversity in and around the site

Environmental Works

The STP will be located on cleared grazing land adjacent to areas of High Conservation value and fisheries habitat. Presently the riparian zone (river bank), is suffering from the adverse impacts of uncontrolled cattle access resulting in the severe erosion of river and stream banks, slumping and the deoxygenation of the western oxbows waters . This has resulted in the decline of aquatic vegetation within the riparian zones.

Byron Shire Council aims to regenerate the area’s valuable terrestrial and aquatic habitats and return the area to its natural form, whilst adding to the wildlife corridor that forms part of the site. Regenerating riparian zones is expected to improve water quality; aquatic ecosystem habitats; and fish habitat within and surrounding the area.

Work to date has been jointly funded by Council including grant assistance from the NSW Department of Primary Industry Recreational Fisheries Trust fund, NSW Environmental Trust, NSW DECC Estuary Management Program and the federal government’s Community Water Grants.

Since 2006 Council has carried out a range of environmental and rehabilitation works to restore and enhance the area’s conservation values. Work includes:

Installing 4.5km of riparian stock exclusion fencing - to protect the river banks from erosion through cattle trampling
The production of a koala management plan– to protect the koala population and enhance habitat
300 hours of bush regeneration activities – removing weed species and restoring native seedlings
Approximately 4500 riparian trees being planted along denuded sections of the Brunswick river bank and the surrounding salt marsh areas.