Murrumbateman Sewage Treatment Plant - Irrigation Reuse
Council owns the Murrumbateman Sewerage System and operates under the NSW EPA Licence 20844. Sewage system is comprised of a gravity sewer network, sewer pumping stations, the Murrumbateman Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) and as of November 2024 a newly commissioned treated effluent irrigation system and pump station.
Construction of the effluent irrigation system was a requirement of the EPA Licence to minimise the potential of treated effluent overflowing into the Murrumbateman Creek. Treated effluent is stored in an existing Effluent Storage Pond (ESP) with a capacity of 70 ML.
Construction of the irrigation system began in July 2024 and spans over 10 hectares of land within the STP premises; incorporating approximately 6km of recycled water mains, 256 sprinkler heads and over 1.3km of control wires the system can irrigate up to 250kL per day to comply with the requirements of EPA Licence.
The irrigation system further includes fail-safe controls such as automatic soil moisture sensors, wind speed sensors and rain gauges to prevent over watering and runoff to nearby water ways, or over spraying outside the designated irrigation area.
As Murrumbateman continues to grow and increase in quantity of wastewater Council can further expand the irrigation system to another 20-Hectares of available land and investigate feasibility to install an effluent reuse standpipe to allow economical access to water for construction uses in the area.