Answers to Questions

WASTE MANAGEMENT

In reply to the Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (19 June 2013).

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation): As the Minister for Water and the River Murray I have received this advice:

1. There are no minimum specifications for customers discharging trade waste. All customers discharging trade waste into SA Water's sewerage system must consistently achieve acceptable discharge quality (as set out in SA Water's Restricted Wastewater Acceptance Standards) to protect the operation of the sewerage collection and treatment systems.

2. SA Water has not given blanket exemptions for the pre-treatment requirement to any discharger category as there might be significant differences in the operation of seemingly comparable business operations. SA Water considers the likely quality and quantity of discharges from the information provided in each application to discharge trade waste.

3. SA Water's requirements are applied equally to discharges to sewer from mobile vendors as for businesses with a fixed location of operation.

4. SA Water endeavours to resolve all complaints at the first point of contact. There are further opportunities to escalate the matter within SA Water if the customer is not satisfied with the outcome. If still dissatisfied, the business may seek the assistance of:

Energy and Water Ombudsman of South Australia for billing, credit, connection, supply, marketing and customer service related complaints; and/or

Ombudsman SA for complaints regarding SA Water's processes and decisions to determine if they are fair, reasonable and lawful; and/or

Office of the Small Business Commissioner which provides a dispute resolution process for small businesses.

5. Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) developed the 'Australian Sewage Quality Management Guidelines' which was released in June 2012 and which SA Water uses to audit its Trade Waste procedures.

SA Water's requirements for food and beverage businesses have changed in response to changes in those business types. For example, the trend towards using vegetable oils instead of animal fats when cooking has increased the time needed for effective contaminant separation in an arrestor, and the large growth in sales of take-away coffee (with the attendant rinses of milk jugs) has led to the need for pre-treatment at businesses where previously it might not have been necessary.

6. SA Water has approximately 9,000 trade waste customers who have received authorisation to discharge trade waste within discharge permits.

7. The reduction of loads into the sewer system is being driven by system performance issues and EPA requirements, not to provide savings to SA Water. Through load reductions we should see a reduction in odours and chokes in the network and less corrosion issues. In addition the EPA requires SA Water to reduce nutrient concentrations in effluent discharge to Gulf Waters.

8. SA Water constantly undertakes sewer monitoring, flow and pollutant loadings, thus enabling hydraulic modelling of the sewer network which indicates that there are areas of the inner rim running at design capacity.

SA Water does not require high density developments to install on-site storages, but this may be subject to the requirements of the Office of the Technical Regulator under the plumbing code.

For larger trade waste dischargers or multi tenanted sites e.g. shopping centres, SA Water may seek to regulate flow to sewer through appropriately sized pre-treatment devices.