Park Orchards Sewerage Project

We’ve started the engineering design needed to bring a piped sewerage system to many properties in Park Orchards and a small part of Ringwood North.

We expect construction to begin in mid to late 2025. The project will be delivered in 4 stages and will take 5 years to complete.  

Properties in Park Orchards will have either a gravity or pressure sewer connection point installed at no cost.  The type of connection is selected based on many factors specific to your property. Our engineers, planners, and project managers visit each property to assess what will work best for the property and the overall sewerage system. They gather this information during site walks, and the details are checked and used in modelling for the whole sewerage network. In most cases, we can’t change the type of system you have been allocated.  

Gravity sewer systems  rely on gradually sloping pipes that allow the sewage to flow naturally downhill, away from your property and into the pipes in the street.    

Pressure sewer systems  feature a small pumping unit on each property which pumps the household sewage to the pressure sewer located in the street. 

Sometimes, adjacent neighbours can have a different system to each other, and this is due to changes in the landscape. This happens especially in areas with large properties.   

Map showing the Park Orchards Sewerage Program map

View Park Orchards project area map

Video showing types of sewerage systems

 

What should you do right now?

You don't need to do anything right now, except keep maintaining your current onsite wastewater (septic) system. We'll be in touch with property owners directly as we progress.

Why does this area need a piped sewerage system?

Septic tanks work by gradually releasing wastewater so that it is absorbed by the soil and plants on your property. If they are old and beyond their service life, fail or aren’t maintained properly they can create unpleasant smells and boggy areas. They can leak waste onto other properties or the wastewater can flow into local drains and waterways. Sometimes properties are too small to contain the waste; or the land might be steep, so the waste runs off before it is absorbed.

Also, many properties have split systems where toilet water is treated by the septic tank and wastewater from the kitchen, shower and laundry flows into the stormwater system. This waste is not treated and flows into our creeks, rivers and bay, polluting our waterways.

Will I receive a sewerage service?

These investigations will inform who we can provide a sewerage service to. The design process determines the feasibility of where we can install pipes, and considers many factors including topography, ecological impact, hydraulics and distance to existing infrastructure.  We’ll be in touch directly with property owners who will be receiving a sewerage service with more information as it becomes available.

What are the costs? 

There is no cost to you for the construction of the sewerage system in Park Orchards or for providing a connection point from your property. If you wish to connect, property owners will be responsible for the connection costs to the sewer. Visit our costs of connection page for more information.  

When will the sewerage service be available?

The new sewerage system for the Park Orchards area will be designed and built in stages over approximately 5 years. We expect construction to start in mid 2025.

Do I have to connect?

Once it’s ready, you don’t have to connect to the new sewerage system provided your onsite sewerage system is working effectively and in accordance with Section 3 of the EPA Code of Practice - Onsite Wastewater Management and council onsite wastewater system permit conditions. Your local council may require you to periodically demonstrate this compliance. In the future, when your system is no longer meeting these requirements you may want to consider connecting to the piped sewerage system. 

Contact us

If you have any questions or feedback about this project, please contact the Community Sewerage Program team on 9872 2551 or email [email protected].