Four things you should know about the Rye Coastal Sewerage Scheme
January 17th, 2012Four things you should know about the Rye Coastal Scheme
1. What is the Rye Coastal Sewerage Scheme?
If you are thinking of buying in Rye, or are already a home owner in Rye, you may be aware that only some Rye properties are currently connected to sewerage. South East Water is currently undertaking a project to connect 1500 Rye properties to the sewerage network, with work expecting to be completed in stages up to 2014.
South East Water say that the project is required because there is “direct evidence of waste from failing household septic tanks polluting the groundwater, waterways and the environment” and that the project to move away from reliance on septic tanks in Rye “will result in significant improvements to public health and the environment”
2. Is your property covered by the scheme?
To find out whether your property, or the property you are interested in purchasing, will be impacted by these works, you can view the affected area maps on the South East Water website:
Stage 4A and Stage 4B map http://www.sewl.com.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/Community/Current_Projects/Rye-Stage_4A-4B.pdf
Stages 5 to 7 map
http://www.sewl.com.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/Community/Current_Projects/Rye-Stage_5-7.pdf
If you live in Rye and want to be covered by the works, but your property is outside of the designated works area, you are able to contact South East Water to see if your property is capable of being connected, although South East Water say the costs of connecting this way are likely to be significantly higher than if you are already covered by the Scheme.
3. How will your property be impacted?
There are two main ways in which your property is likely to be impacted if it is covered by these works.
First, you may find your nature strip being dug up so that the underground waste pipes can be laid.
Secondly, if you do decide to connect, you will need to meet with South East Water at your property to agree on the location for the connection at your property.
4. What costs are involved if you are covered by the Scheme?
There are costs involved for the home owner or prospective home owner as a result of the works being undertaken by South East Water. It should be noted while the decision whether to connect to the new sewerage system is optional, it appears that some of costs will be unavoidable, regardless of whether a decision is made to connect or not.
These additional costs need to be weighed against the costs you will eliminate as a result of not having to undertake ongoing maintenance of the septic tank system.
The following summary of costs appears on the South East Water website.
|
Name |
Who pays |
Costs |
|
Scheme Contribution Fee |
Everyone within the scheme boundary, regardless of whether you choose to connect |
$500 – included with your quarterly water and sewerage bill at $25 per quarter for five years. |
|
Single Residential Application Fee |
Only if you choose to connect |
$45 – which is waived if you connect within the first 12 months. |
|
Connection costs to your house plumbing (by your Licensed Plumber) |
Only if you choose to connect |
Connection of household waste water pipes to the pump unit and decommissioning of the existing septic tank is estimated to cost between $1500 and $5000, depending on ground conditions. These figures can only be confirmed once an onsite assessment has been undertaken so the information provided here is an average estimate. |
|
Ongoing costs for use of pressure sewerage system |
Only if you choose to connect Properties connected to the gravity sewerage system will not pay for the electrical supply. |
Electrical supply for pump unit is approximately $30 per year subject to usage and paid to your electrical supplier. The sewerage service charge and the sewage disposal charge average $80 per quarter subject to usage and are paid to South East Water. The sewage disposal charge is a user pays charge that covers the cost of collection, treatment and disposal of sewage so that it may be safely re-used or released back to the environment. The sewerage service charge covers access to the sewerage system itself. |