Wedoany.com Report on Feb 28th, Sydney Water has proposed a new sewage treatment plan aimed at addressing the capacity pressure faced by the sewage network in Western Sydney. The plan involves constructing a new Water Resource Recovery Facility in the Camellia industrial area near Parramatta, which will add 70 megalitres of daily treatment capacity. This is intended to alleviate the bottleneck issue where the existing coastal system is projected to reach full capacity by 2031.
Currently, wastewater from the Greater Parramatta and Olympic Peninsula corridor is transported via the Northern Suburbs Ocean Outfall pipeline to the North Head Water Resource Recovery Facility for discharge into the ocean. The Camellia Pump Station serves approximately 250,000 people, handling about 25% of the total flow. The new proposal will divert up to 70 megalitres of sewage per day for advanced treatment, including reverse osmosis technology, before discharging it into the Parramatta River through a 7.6-kilometre outfall pipeline, thereby reducing the burden on the coastal trunk pipeline.
Planning documents indicate that housing and employment growth are putting pressure on the coastal network. The documents state: "The anticipated growth in housing and commercial development will place pressure on existing critical assets. The Northern Suburbs Ocean Outfall pipeline and the North Head Water Resource Recovery Facility are expected to reach full capacity around 2031." By 2056, it is projected that the region will add approximately 110,000 new homes and 196,000 jobs, which the existing system will struggle to support.
Similar sewage treatment bottlenecks have already affected other areas in New South Wales, such as a stalled plan for 15,000 homes in southwestern Sydney due to sewage constraints. The new facility will be built on a 21.41-hectare parcel of Sydney Water-owned land in Rydalmere, located within the Camellia-Rydalmere industrial precinct, surrounded by heavy industry, Sydney Olympic Park, and the Parramatta Central Business District redevelopment area.
The sewage treatment plan includes approximately 15 kilometres of new and upgraded pipeline infrastructure, such as a 2.2-kilometre transfer main and a 5.2-kilometre brine pipeline, along with pump station upgrades. The construction period is scheduled from 2028 to 2031, with a target operational date of 2032. The existing coastal infrastructure will continue to operate, with the North Head treatment plant discharging into the ocean, while the Camellia facility shares the network load.
A scoping report compared alternative options, such as expanding the North Head facility or duplicating the ocean outfall system, but noted these options could cost billions of dollars. The report stated that a duplication scheme would require around $5 billion in capital expenditure, whereas the Camellia option avoids this cost. This public exhibition coincides with an independent sewage upgrade plan by the New South Wales Government, which focuses on Sydney's coastal treatment network, aiming to reduce overflows and upgrade aging infrastructure.
The Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure will assess the application, with the public exhibition period open until March 11. This Western Sydney Sewage Treatment Plan aims to ensure the sustainability of regional development through capacity expansion and flow diversion, preventing future obstacles to housing and employment growth.
