Sewerage area expands

Gosford Council has decided to expand the service area for the Cockle Bay Towns Sewerage project following community support for the proposal.

The project will now cover unsewered areas in Empire Bay, Bensville and Kincumber South.

Submissions in response to a smaller draft service area prompted the council to draft an expanded service area, which was placed on public exhibition for 21 days from March to April.

Council received 95 submissions in response, representing 29 per cent of the community targeted with over 80 per cent of respondents supporting the draft service area and 11 per cent opposing it.

More than half of the respondents had concerns about the cost of connection.

Council staff reported that further community consultation will be carried out once initial cost estimates have been prepared.

According to Council, the expansion will have no long term impact on Council's budget as the unsewered areas under investigation would be funded by the benefiting property owners and any NSW Government subsidy achieved.

The expanded service area was determined based on health and environmental investigations in the Cockle Bay area.

The project is one of four remaining priority sewerage projects in the Gosford Local Government Area identified by the State Government to protect public health and the environment through improvements.

The Cockle Bay Towns Sewerage scheme covers existing pump-out systems, existing business operations, properties unable to adequately sustain on-site sewerage management without significant risk to public health or the environment and new infrastructure adjacent to property boundaries.

Council Agenda WAT.8, 3 May 2011