Servicing small villages We will provide sewer services to ‘at risk’ small villages pending government funding. The small villages that are currently listed ‘at risk’ are Coomba Park, Nerong, Stroud Rd, Allworth, North Arm Cove, Pindimar and Bundabah. There are a number of small villages not included in this list which need to be considered when reviewing potential service extensions. The prospect for proceeding with the provision of sewer services to these communities relies on government subsidy and contributions from new customers. The households in villages that do not have centralised water and sewer services use their own onsite systems. Sometimes, the onsite sewerage systems can leak untreated effluent or raw sewage. This may be caused by system failure or a lack of or inadequate maintenance. The leaking effluent can have adverse downstream effects on the environment, which can then also lead to health risks. In 2000, an analysis of un-serviced communities which have the potential to impact downstream activities was
IWCM Strategy 2015
undertaken. This analysis included a risk assessment which considered: The number of existing developed lots and their size; The site soil conditions; and The proximity of the existing development to downstream activities such as town water supply, shellfish food production, aquatic ecosystem and recreational and agricultural uses. Extending services comes at significant upfront and ongoing costs.
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