Wastewater FAQs

Wastewater, also known as sewage, is the used water that goes down sinks, toilets and drains all over the Illawarra. We keep it moving while protecting the health of our customers and reducing impacts on the environment. We collect and process wastewater through a complex, coordinated combination of carefully monitored facilities and pipes.

We continue to look for ways to better protect public health and the environment as we prepare for a growing city and work towards a circular economy. We aim to:

• use technology better to find and fix problems – hopefully, before they occur
• reduce leaks and blockages
• improve treatment processes
• reduce odours and other impacts on our customers
• increase water recycling
• reuse waste products.

Our water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) treat the wastewater before it's reused or discharged to rivers or oceans. They follow strict licence conditions issued by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA), which monitors the effect of discharges on water quality and aquatic life. They can also produce recycled water and biosolids, a rich source of phosphorus and nitrogen which can be used in agriculture, composting and land rehabilitation.

Treating wastewater is about removing or breaking down what people have added to the water that leaves their home or business. We use different processes to remove impurities from wastewater at our WRRFs. The type of treatment needed depends on:

• the location of the facility
• where the treated water will be discharged or reused
• the nature of the facilities catchment area, including wastewater quality.

There are three treatment levels: primary, secondary and tertiary. You can find out more about these processes on our main website.

* Bellambi and Port Kembla are stormwater facilities and only receive flow during storm events and are part of the Wollongong system. 

Illawarra wastewater treatment system

 

Our wastewater system works behind the scenes but we need to continually upgrade and renew our existing facilities from time to time to keep things running reliably. 

We’re trying to reduce wastewater overflows by proactively maintaining our assets through our avoid fail program, stormwater and sewer rehabilitation program (SSRP), and also investigating wastewater overflow problems reported to us by our customers to find a solution to reduce the frequency of it happening. This is our internal surcharge program. 

Avoid fail program

We continually check our wastewater assets to keep them in good condition. The aim is to improve the reliability of our wastewater system by repairing or replacing old wastewater pipes. We also install new pipes to increase the system’s wastewater capacity.

Internal surcharge program

Wastewater surcharges (overflows) can occur in wet weather. This is usually due to a blocked pipes or insufficient capacity within our pipes. Blockages can generally be found by CCTV investigations and cleared soon after the surcharge occurs. When we can't find a blockage, we do further investigations to try and find the reason why the surcharge is happening. To fix problems and reduce the number of times surcharges happen in the same area, we may need to build new infrastructure, install new, or upsize existing wastewater pipes to cope with additional flows during wet weather.

Stormwater and sewer rehabilitation program (SSRP)

The Sewer and Stormwater Rehabilitation Program (SSRP) involves repairing and lining wastewater or stormwater pipes. This is done using trenchless, no dig technology. The old pipes in need of repair are rehabilitated by inserting a liner inside them through existing maintenance holes at either end of the pipe. Pipes need to be intact, with no collapsed sections, to be lined. If there are significant breaks or collapses in the pipes these need to be repaired, by digging and replacing that section of pipe, before lining can be done. There are several lining systems available and approved by Sydney Water. The method of installation varies depending on the type of liner used. More information is available in our factsheet.

A lot of the work is done on private properties in stages, and requires several visits to maintenance holes by specialist crews, including:

• site investigation - we visit each property with a maintenance hole to determine the exact location and gather property owner / tenant information, contact details, and explain the work and impacts which are documented in a pre-construction agreement (PCA)
• cleaning & CCTV inspection
• lining
• junction cutting/sealing
• post CCTV inspection.

The aim is to complete all stages as quickly as possible, ideally within four weeks, to reduce the impact on residents.

Only flush the "three Ps" down your toilet 

• pee
• poo
• paper (toilet paper)

Don't flush 

• wipes
• cotton buds
• nappies
• dental floss
• tissues
• hygiene products
• paper towels
• medicine

What happens if you flush more than the three Ps?

What you do and don’t flush matters! Anything flushed outside the three Ps (pee, poo and toilet paper) chokes our network and increases the chance of overflows in and around your home during heavy rain. Wet wipes are still the major culprit being flushed. Please dispose of these and other items on the “don’t flush” list with your regular rubbish.

Flushing only the three Ps helps protect our network and the environment.