This will depend on the number of people who live or work in the catchment area. It will also depend on other factors such as reduction in virus shedding over the time that people have COVID, dilution of virus within sewage, the period of time over which the sewage sample is collected, and the presence of chemicals and microorganisms in the sewage that affects how well the testing can detect SARS-CoV-2 virus fragments. The Sewage Surveillance Program is not designed to identify individuals, and does not detect which household the virus fragments are coming from.
Sewage treatment facilities serve different sized sewer catchment areas and different sized populations depending on their location. In the Sydney metropolitan area, some facilities collect sewage from over a million people from hundreds of thousands of households, while facilities in regional areas can serve large geographical areas but fewer households.
NSW hospitals and other health facilities dispose of clinical waste such as human tissue, bulk body fluids or blood, blood-stained materials or equipment and laboratory specimens or cultures according to the regulations in the NSW Protection of the Environment Operations Act Sewage from hospitals treating COVID patients is managed through the regular sewage treatment system.
It will also depend on other factors such as virus shedding by people which varies individually and over the course of the infection , dilution of virus within sewage — such as during rain, the period of time over which the sewage sample is collected, and the presence of chemicals and microorganisms in the sewage that affects how well the testing can detect SARS-CoV-2 virus fragments. Sewage surveillance does not replace clinical testing of individuals or other control measures.
We use this information alongside individual testing results and other health data to inform the NSW Health response. The current testing locations have been decided based on areas of concern and direction from the NSW Chief Health Officer.
Councils can discuss their interest to participate with their local public health unit. Sewage also contains detergents and other substances that inactivate kill SARS-CoV-2 before it reaches the sewage treatment plant.
Drinking water is treated before being delivered to your tap and is safe to drink unless your council informs you otherwise. CBK were specifically involved in the property works installations, extensive service locating activities and horizontal directional drilling works.
On site works involved replacing over existing septic tank systems with new on-site pump and pressure sewerage collection network. Crews also installed property discharge lines using trenchless techniques such as Grundomat boring and Horizontal Directional Drilling with our Ditchwitch drill rig. Other works contracted to CBK were the air release facilities, carbon canisters and vent shafts for the project.
Working to a tight program, CBK was able to exceed the clients program requirements in a challenging service riddled environment. Project: Appin Waste Water Scheme. The Appin Wastewater Scheme provided improved wastewater services to un-sewered urban communities. CBK completed on site works to replace over existing septic tank systems with an on-site pump and pressure sewerage collection network.
CBK service locating crews were chosen for extensive locating and non-destructive excavation as part of a safety initiative on the project. By August , Orange was in the midst of a critical water shortage as a result of the Millennium Drought. Water storages had dropped below At the time, inflows to storages on the outskirts of town were not enough to meet demand and few alternative supplies were available. Urban stormwater harvesting was identified as one solution to meet this shortfall.
Blackmans Swamp Creek and Ploughmans Creek stormwater harvesting schemes now operate in urban creek catchments. The schemes capture a portion of the high creek flows during storm events and transfer these into the nearby Suma Park Dam, where the water is then treated according to the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.
The Government has heard that many local water utilities want to progress options for purified recycled water, but need government support to work with the community to increase understanding and acceptance of the concept. The Government has also examined the economic regulatory barriers to cost effective water recycling, including a review by Infrastructure NSW in The Government will support water utilities to diversify sources of water including groundwater, stormwater harvesting and recycling.
This will include progressing relevant regulatory reform and community acceptance campaigns to help increase the uptake of diverse water sources with the potential to increase water security and resilience for towns and communities.
One solution that is proving successful in other states and overseas is managed aquifer recharge MAR. The basic idea of MAR is to use below- ground aquifers to temporarily store water instead of above-ground reservoirs. The aquifer acts as a water bank. Water enters the aquifer via infiltration ponds or injection wells during times of plenty, and is later redrawn using bores during times of scarcity. As well as smoothing out demand versus supply, water that would have otherwise evaporated becomes available.
In Australia, MAR schemes have typically been developed to support community water supply such as in Perth. Some countries have used them to increase water security for agricultural or industrial sectors for example, Spain.
MAR comes with technical challenges: there must be water available for diversion; the diverted water and host groundwater must be of compatible qualities; the aquifer must be suitable - with sufficient storage while not allowing the water to flow into other areas; and any environmental impacts must be fully understood.
In NSW, we are in the early stages of investigating MAR as an option for improving town water security and to possibly support the agricultural sector.
These include:. Despite the challenges, MAR has the potential to be a significant opportunity for innovative water management in NSW, with benefits for town water security and possibly the agricultural industry. The Government will develop a policy that sets out the framework for MAR in NSW and identify where it is technically and economically viable.
We will:. Integrated water cycle management captures opportunities to improve all aspects of water management and provide urban amenity as part of the design and establishment of new urban communities, urban infill and urban redevelopment.
It is also relevant to the replacement and renewal of existing urban infrastructure, including water and wastewater systems, channels and drainage lines, as well as footpaths and roadways.
An integrated water cycle management approach promotes the coordinated development and management of water with land, other infrastructure and related resources to facilitate protection of the water resource and vital ecosystems, and deliver place-based, community-centred outcomes that maximise the resilience and liveability of cities and towns.
This coordinated approach allows a greater range of options to be identified and evaluated to enhance urban amenity and achieve better economic value from infrastructure investment. Critically, integrated water cycle management fosters consideration of the urban water cycle early in the urban planning process, and recognises the role that water plays in creating places that contribute to community health and wellbeing. One of the key challenges is to identify the best mix of supply and demand options.
This includes leveraging the significant reinvestment required in wastewater systems to ensure that the most economic and affordable investment decisions are made. An integrated water cycle management approach requires robust, place- based, economic and engineering options analysis. It also requires appropriate policy, regulatory and planning control settings to achieve the desired outcomes. Local water utilities currently undertake integrated water cycle management planning.
All regional and metropolitan water strategies are developed based on an integrated water cycle management approach. The Conversation, , and as urbanisation continues, the heat island effect will become more pronounced unless planning includes green spaces to mitigate this effect. The success of the Western Parkland City will require more water, particularly during the establishment of parks and gardens.
Its design will also be oriented towards water in the urban landscape, either by lakes and water features amongst the parklands or by Wianamatta South Creek itself as a healthy urban waterway sustained and protected by the sensitive management of urban stormwater and wastewater.
See the case study about Wianamatta South Creek in section 4. In , NSW was the first state to allow private companies to build and operate recycled water and sewerage schemes under the Water Industry Competition Act There are now 22 private water and sewerage schemes in the Greater Sydney and Hunter regions, providing services to over 6, water customers and 8, sewerage customers as at June They range from schemes servicing greenfield residential developments in outer Sydney and the Lower Hunter, to innovative water recycling schemes in award-winning urban revitalisation projects like Central Park and Barangaroo.
To ensure that the Act continues to support innovation and competition, the Government will streamline the licensing process and reduce costs and delays for industry.
Key reforms will focus on regulating high risk schemes, removing barriers to entry, separating the licensing of operators and retailers from the approval of individual schemes, and strengthening customer protection and last resort arrangements.
These reforms will ensure that cities and towns have options to identify the preferred solution to their water servicing needs, whether that is provided by government-owned utilities or the private sector.
The Government will finalise reforms to the Water Industry Competition Act and Water Industry Competition Regulation to support involvement of the private sector in the supply of water and wastewater services.
In urban areas, water utilities typically manage both water and wastewater. Pumping water and treating wastewater are very energy intensive.
Every decision about the source, treatment and distribution of water and wastewater has significant implications for energy and chemical requirements, and the waste streams generated. Actions to optimise the efficiency of distribution and treatment systems can have a significant impact on operating costs, while opportunities to reduce energy demands can reduce their overall carbon footprint.
Urban water management presents significant opportunities for energy and resource recovery - both for the water utility itself and for the communities that it services. In addition to providing recycled water, wastewater can be treated in a way that creates heat or methane, while nutrients and carbon can be recovered for use as fertiliser and other more advanced purposes.
Cities and major regional centres have an increasing interest in the co-digestion of wastewater with other food and organic waste streams.
This creates renewable energy and reduces the amount of food waste going to landfill. Reservoir and treatment plant sites are often highly suitable for solar energy capture, while the hydraulics of water and wastewater systems provide opportunities for mini hydro power generation. Communities also support and expect water utilities to innovate and invest in optimising their energy use and resource recovery.
The Government will partner with councils, water utilities, research organisations, the private sector and communities to pilot innovative urban water management that improves resource efficiency and recovery, and contributes to working towards a net zero emissions future. Menu Close Menu. Close Menu. Back to Non-urban metering Non-urban metering The NSW Government is committed to implementing a robust metering framework to improve the standard and coverage of non-urban water meters across NSW.
Back to Plans and programs Plans and programs Close Menu. Towards Our priorities and implementation plan Priority 6. Support resilient, prosperous and liveable cities and towns. Actions 6. Our aspiration NSW towns and cities are resilient to changes in water availability, extreme drought and flood events, with water management underpinning secure employment, a healthy natural environment and liveable places that support community health and wellbeing.
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