GWMWater wastewater treatment plant sites hold and distribute treated wastewater for beneficial uses such as public recreation facilities and for businesses.

Storages have been designed to contain enough water to manage normal inflows as well as above average wet weather years.  Occasionally, as has happened in January 2011, we experienced unusually high rainfall events which resulted in high volumes of wastewater flows into the system.  When more water enters the system than is being discharged, storage levels rise resulting in water being releases for the environment. This action is necessary to protect the integrity of the storage facilities at the waste water treatment plant and to avoid an uncontrolled spill.

This discharge requires GWMWater to obtain a licence from the EPA. Releases are carried out under strict conditions stipulated in Section 30A of the emergency provisions of the Environment Protection Act 1970.  These strict protocols ensure that discharges do not cause any adverse environmental impacts.

When storages approach full capacity we take the following steps:
1. The EPA  is notified of the situation and a Section 30A is applied for.
2. When the EPA grants the Section 30A, we notify our relevant stakeholders and the wider community.

GWMWater’s management plan details how much water can be discharged each day and a water quality monitoring program is implemented.