ENVIRONMENTALISTS WELCOME NCC DRAFT DETERMINATION ON SERVICES SYDNEY PROPOSAL

Thursday, 12 August 2004 10:00

Total Environment Centre (TEC) has welcomed a draft determination by the National Competition Council (NCC) granting Services Sydney access to Sydney Water infrastructure for recycling sewage effluent.

TEC Urban Campaigner Mr Leigh Martin said, "This decision opens the way for large scale effluent re-use to substitute millions of litres of water currently drawn from our drinking water supplies. Using recycled water for outdoor, industrial and irrigation purposes will take pressure of our scarce supplies and free up water for environmental flows to the stressed Hawkesbury-Nepean river system"

Despite pressure for many years to increase the use of recycled effluent Sydney Water has failed dismally to develop infrastructure for effluent recycling and create markets for recycled water. Recently the corporation abandoned the proposed Georges River Recycled Water Pipeline that would have recycled large volumes of sewage for non drinking purposes.

"This decision by the NCC is particularly important in light of Sydney Water's abject failure to develop and promote effluent re-use as an alternative to current supplies. Their inaction has made competition from the private sector necessary", Mr Martin said.

By capturing sewage currently discharged from the ocean outfalls and treating it for re-use the proposal would also stop millions of litre of sewage effluent being discharged into the ocean every day.

TEC has called on the NSW Government and Sydney Water to work with the private sector to promote effluent re-use and develop markets for recycled water as a key plank of the forthcoming water strategy.

Environment groups recently called for 130 Gigalitres of sewage to be recycled each year to avoid a new dam on the Shoalhaven River.
 

For further information

Contact
:
Leigh Martin - Urban Campaigner
Phone
:
61 2 9299 5599
Email
:
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:
http://www.tec.org.au/