Sydney Water’s Vaucluse raw sewage outfall plan

Residents from an exclusive Sydney suburb who have long feared their homes would tremble and property prices crumble during major works to redirect sewerage from the ocean outfalls have finally received some answers.

Environment Minister Gabrielle Upton and Member for Coogee Bruce Notley-Smith with the Premier Gladys Berejiklian making the announcement that sewage will no longer be pumped out to sea. Picture: Jonathan Ng

VAUCLUSE residents who have long feared their homes would tremble and property prices crumble during major works to redirect sewerage from the ocean outfalls have been assured they should face “minimal” disruption.

Sydney Water says it is using new “trenchless technology” as part of its $86 million solution to divert the raw sewage to the Bondi Wastewater Treatment Plant instead of being pumped directly into the ocean at three locations from Vaucluse to Diamond Bay.

This will amount to little change on road infrastructure and should be almost unnoticeable to homeowners.

It will be more appealing to do this at Milk Beach in Vaucluse soon. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Under the landmark solution, tunnels will be just 30cm in diameter and located 70m underground and residents should not be subjected to any foul smells.

“For the most part they will be inserted underground without the need to dig trenches at street level,” a Sydney Water spokesman said.

“We plan to connect the ocean outfalls to a large wastewater pipe that runs along Old South Head Road.

“This pipe has capacity and is the most efficient way to redirect the wastewater that currently flows directly into the ocean to a treatment plant.”

“At long last after all this time we have a solution,” Cr Betts said

The plan is the preferred option of the 12 person Community Reference Group which was made up of representatives from local residents groups and precincts. Cr Sally Betts was an observer during the Reference Group meetings.

As a Waverley councillor of 23 years she remembers the days when residents protested on the streets because they were so concerned about how the works would be carried out.

“At long last after all this time we have a solution,” Cr Betts said, “It’s been going on for more years than you’d know.”

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Environment Minister and Vaucluse MP Gabrielle Upton commended Sydney Water on finding a solution.

“The community reference group did an amazing job working through the possible solutions and identifying the best one for further consultation with our local community,” she said.

“I want to sincerely thank them for the ideas and goodwill they brought to their deliberations … The outfall issue has been in the too hard basket for too long. I am so pleased that we are finally resolving it.”

On the timetable provided construction could start as soon as late 2019.