Sewer

What is sewage?
Sewage is waste matter from the community. It includes such things as faecal matter, urine, household and commercial wastewater, and industrial wastes. It does not include stormwater.
 

What is the sewerage system?
This is the network of pipes and structures for the collection and transfer of sewage to the treatment plant.
 

Why is the sewerage system important?
It is important to have a sewerage system to treat and dispose of sewage correctly because, besides having a bad smell, sewage contains bacteria and other substances that can be harmful to our health.
 

When sewage goes into the sewerage system where does it end up?
After going through a number of treatment  processes at the wastewater treatment facility, the liquid content is discharged to the ocean under strict DERM conditions and the solid content is recycled as agricultural soil conditioner or disposed of as landfill.
 

What is stormwater?
Stormwater is water collected or discharged as a result of rain and its run-off. Collection areas are:

• roof water
• surface water (run-off from paved and unpaved areas)
• sub-soil water (water accumulated within the ground).

STORMWATER SHOULD NEVER BE DIRECTED INTO THE SEWER. IT OVERLOADS THE SYSTEM MAKING TREATMENT PLANTS UNABLE TO COPE AND CAUSING OVERFLOWS (SOMETIMES IN PEOPLE’S HOUSES). Directing water into the sewer is illegal under the Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008.
 

What is Trade Waste?
Trade waste is a liquid discharge containing trade or factory wastes, chemicals or other impurities from an business, trade or manufacturing premises. Trade waste does not include domestic sewage from a hand wash basin, shower, bath or toilet. It also does not include stormwater, unpolluted water or prohibited substances, such as flammable liquids, oils, greases, acids, dead animal matter, clothing, solids, medical wastes, infectious materials, hair and chemical wastes.

There is a misconception that trade waste is always toxic and is only generated by industrial factories or large organisations. In fact, the most common trade waste is waste from commercial businesses such as food outlets, service stations and vehicle repair workshops, equipment hire centres and animal boarding kennels to list a few.
Only waste that can be treated biologically through Council's treatment processes is allowed to be discharged to the sewer. Most businesses that wish to discharge their trade waste to sewer are required to pre-treat the waste to acceptable sewer admission levels prior to discharge.

Council issues an Application for a Permit to Discharge Trade Waste into the sewerage system to control the amount and type of trade waste being discharged.
 

Application process:

• Notify Council prior to starting or taking over a business
• A Trade Waste Officer will then inspect the premises
• An Application Form is required to be completed and any relevant fees paid
• A Trade Waste Permit is then issued

If you are unsure if your business discharges trade waste, please contact Council.
 

Sewage Solutions
For any sewerage overflow or blockage problems your first port of call should be to Council to arrange a visit to your property and determine who is responsible for the problem.
Some sewerage problems may be the responsibility of Council and may need to be fixed by Council staff. If it is not a council responsibility, you will need to contact your private plumber or Q Build.