Community Wastewater Management System

Dr HARVEY (Newland) (15:40): I rise today to update the house on the Marshall Liberal government's work to transfer nearly 4,700 properties from the Tea Tree Gully Council's Community Wastewater Management System (CWMS) to SA Water's sewerage network at no cost to households. We are getting on with fixing this decades-old issue to provide residents in the north-east with a modern, reliable sewer system that delivers nationally accepted levels of service for its customers and saves households hundreds of dollars per year.

The work to transition CWMS customers will occur in stages, with stage 1 to include 428 properties within parts of the current network that suffer significant performance issues in Modbury North and parts of St Agnes and Banksia Park. These works are expected to begin in late 2021 and anticipated to take around a year to complete. Stage 2 of the project will include around 1,644 properties in parts of St Agnes, Banksia Park, Fairview Park, Tea Tree Gully, Vista and Surrey Downs, with works to begin in mid-2022 and expected to be completed by mid-2024, with the remaining properties in stage 3 scheduled to start construction by 2024. This means that more than 2,000 households should expect to be connected by mid-2024.

SA Water has worked with the council and the community to guide the planning and prioritisation process to help minimise the impacts of the upgrades and increase the benefits for the community. The prioritisation of households was based on a number of factors, such as the number of blockages and chokes, group overflows, development pressure in high-growth areas, CWMS infrastructure average age, proximity to sensitive environment, and more. The criteria were weighted based on importance and significance to the program. Amongst the most heavily weighted criteria were those relating to performance of the network.

Further to the community feedback, SA Water is also conducting pilot works for approximately 60 properties at two sites in Modbury, at Glenere Drive and Dawson Drive. These projects are valuable in providing insight into the complexities of converting CWMS customers over to SA Water's sewerage network. The first pilot site at Glenere Drive saw the construction of a 134 metres of sewer main in the road and associated inspection points for properties to be able to connect to. I was pleased to visit and see firsthand the completion of these works with the Minister for Environment and Water late last year.

On-property works and connection to SA Water's network are planned for completion in mid-2021. SA Water will work closely with households to provide specific details about commencement dates and the scope of works. Connecting CWMS customers to the SA Water network will require construction of new sewer mains, generally in the roads but infrequently in easements; new connection pipes from the sewer mains to each property; new on-property pipework; decommissioning the septic tank; and reinstating property assets where disturbed as part of the installation of the connection works.

In keeping with other programs that transfer council systems over to state government operation, it is expected that the council will make a significant contribution to the program to replace the assets. The council's contribution should be made without any additional impost on households. Households have already paid enough. In fact, ratepayer money that council has already been setting aside for future maintenance and upgrades of their soon to be redundant system should be used to support the conversion project.

It is also worth noting that with the CWMS infrastructure largely being constructed in the 1960s and 1970s, and with many sections reaching the end of their useful life, the conversion program is progressing on the assumption that all CWMS assets will become redundant once customers are transitioned to SA Water's network. After years—in fact, decades—of complaints from residents about their ageing septic systems and skyrocketing prices, I am proud to be part of a government that has listened to their concerns and is now getting on with fixing this problem once and for all at no cost to households.

Once transitioned, households will save up to $400 a year and receive a modern and reliable sewerage service with a 24/7 customer care response service. They will no longer have the inconvenience of having their front or back yard dug up every four years to empty their septic tanks. I am really excited to see this project finally going ahead. Residents in our community in the north-east are finally being listened to, and we look forward to seeing this project continue to progress.