Eurobodalla Integrated Water Cycle Management Strategy

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Social Issues
Eurobodalla Integrated Water Cycle Management Strategy
The wastewater from the on-site systems poses a risk to public health, with
recorded incidents of overflow into streets.
Of the unsewered villages in Eurobodalla Shire, Rosedale and Guerilla Bay have
the highest population with increased public health risk.
The village residents do not receive water saving ‘tips’ or information on how to
better manage the on-site wastewater management systems.
An urban expansion zone is currently under development inland of the existing
villages.
9.6.3 How Do We Fix The Problems
Overview
The WSUD principles as discussed in Section 8.1.3, could be implemented in Rosedale
and Guerilla Bay to design new developments in an integrated fashion to reduce their
impacts on the environment. Elements of WUSD include:
Reduced mains water consumption through the use of water-efficient devices and
rainwater tanks
Reduced stormwater flow by on-site detention measures, and
Improvements in stormwater quality through natural treatment processes such as
wetlands.
It is recommended that these features be incorporated as part of the planning for the new
development area.
The current sewage management practices are not sustainable due to the significant
impact on the groundwater and the potential to pollute the two nearby lagoons. The majority
of the dwellings in the area use septic systems with adsorption trenches, which are not
suitable for the sandy, gravel and clay soils of the region. Rosedale and Guerilla Bay ranked
the highest priority for management intervention on a risk analysis conducted on most of
the small villages in the Eurobodalla Shire (see appendix X for the assessment criteria).
It is recommended that Council take over the provision of sewage treatment for the villages
as a matter of priority. This could be done through the centralised management of on-site
systems or provision of a centralised treatment facility.
Water Cycle Management Opportunities
There are both short and medium term measures to improve the water cycle management
at Rosedale and Guerilla Bay. The short term measures should be implemented as a
matter of priority to achieve best practice standard immaterial of the medium-term
opportunities.
Short term Measures
The short term measures include:
Regular monitoring of the on-site wastewater management systems for
performance and integrity