One of the triangular sludge ponds at the Queanbeyan Sewage Treatment Plant. Photo: Supplied.
After an almost two-year wait, the green light has been given for a major upgrade to the sewerage network in south-east NSW.
The treated effluent from the Queanbeyan Sewage Treatment Plant is discharged into the Molonglo River, which flows to Lake Burley Griffin.
Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council (QPRC) first lodged its development application (DA) with the ACT Government in December 2023 to upgrade the plant.
The plant was built in the mid-1930s on a section of land leased from Canberra, and has been flagged for upgrades as it has reached the end of its service life and is struggling to serve a growing population.
This project will include demolition of the existing facility (and the building of a replacement plant), landscaping and other associated work.
At their recent meeting, QPRC councillors were formally notified of the approval in their latest update on the project’s progress, with the conditions described as being “within achievable limits”.
“This significant milestone and achievement will enable the next stages of the project to progress,” the papers state.
Mere days before Christmas, the ACT Government handed it conditional approval, finding that this planned use is consistent with the site’s Crown lease.
“The approved development will upgrade the treatment train of wastewater prior to any discharge into the adjacent Molonglo River,” it states.
“This new plant has the ability to treat water to the relevant standards, however the ultimate water quality impacts will occur once operational, which is when this DA/decision has no effect.”
In its approval, the ACT Government included conditions related to the project’s environmental impacts and how the building works should be managed.
“Such matters are controlled by the (EPA-issued) Environmental Authorisation (EA).
“Conditions linking this decision to the EA have been imposed.”
The works would need to follow mitigation measures detailed in the project’s environmental impact statement, while a construction environmental management plan must be approved before the works can begin.
The treated effluent is released into the Molonglo River, which flows to Canberra’s Lake Burley Griffin (pictured). Photo: Claire Fenwicke.
Other conditions include the use of a plan for controlling erosion and sediment control, a new driveway built to ACT standards, creation of a temporary traffic management plan and installation of fencing to protect Aboriginal places.
There must also be no encroachments on Territory land.
Meanwhile, the document states that future environmental reviews are expected to track several flow-on effects from the new plant’s operations, such as the allowable concentration of residential chlorine and the total dissolved solids load in waterways.
“On balance, the DA is supported noting that the monitoring and treatment of sewage being discharged to the Molonglo River will be an initial and ongoing issue for the proponent to address through the EA.”
The ACT Government’s approval also mandates that work on the upgrades must start within three years of the approval being issued.
According to the council’s website, the project is expected to be finished in 2029 and is valued at $188 million.
Once completed, the upgrades will allow the facility to continue its function as a sewerage plant for the region’s growing population.
A scoping report for the project says the existing plant was designed for a population of 34,500, but was servicing about 50,000 people as of 2021.
