The Hills Shire Council - On-site Sewage Management Inspection (2014) - duplicate

• Type of inspection

  Select Approval to Operate Approval to Operate Reinspection Approval to Install - Final Approval to Install - Inspection Complaint

  • Approval to Operate
  • Approval to Operate Reinspection
  • Approval to Install - Final
  • Approval to Install - Inspection
  • Complaint
• Property address
  Address

• Licence No.

• Applicant name

• Applicant telephone number

• Applicant email

• Conducted on

  Date

• Environmental Health Officer

Inspection details

• Number of bedrooms

• Number of residents

• Soil typeffffffffffff

  Select Sand and gravel Sandy loam Loam Clay loam Light clay Medium/Heavy Clay

  • Sand and gravel
  • Sandy loam
  • Loam
  • Clay loam
  • Light clay
  • Medium/Heavy Clay

• Inspection to be invoiced

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• System type

  Select AWTS Septic tank with land disposal Biological filtering system Pump out Greywater Other

  • AWTS
  • Septic tank with land disposal
  • Biological filtering system
  • Pump out
  • Greywater
  • Other

• Disposal area

  Select Absorption trench Evapotranspiration bed Wisconsin mound Spray Irrigation Sub-surface irrigation Pump-out

  • Absorption trench
  • Evapotranspiration bed
  • Wisconsin mound
  • Spray Irrigation
  • Sub-surface irrigation
  • Pump-out

Performance standards

• Does the system prevent the spread of disease by micro-organisms? (1)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Does the system prevent the spread of foul odours? (2)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Does the system prevent the contamination of water? (3)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Does the system prevent the degradation of soil and vegetation? (4)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Does the system discourage insects and vermin? (5)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Does the system ensure that persons do not come into contact with untreated sewage or effluent (whether treat or not) in their ordinary activities on the premises concerned? (6)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Does the system minimise any adverse impacts on the amenity of the premises and surrounding lands? (7)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Does the systems provide for he re-use of resources (including nutrients, organic matter and water? (8)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

Buffer distances

• Is the effluent disposal area greater than 100 m to permanent surface waters? (9)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Is the effluent disposal area greater than 250 m to domestic groundwater? (10)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Is the effluent disposal area greater than 40 m to other waters (eg intermittent waterways, dams)? (11)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

Spray irrigation

• Is the effluent disposal area greater than 6 m up/3m down to driveways & property boundaries? (12)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Is the effluent disposal area greater than 15 m to dwellings? (13)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Is the effluent disposal area greater than 3 m to paths and walkways? (14)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Is the effluent disposal area greater than 6 m to swimming pools? (15)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

Subsurface & trickle irrigation

• Is the effluent disposal area greater than 6 m up/ 3 m down to pools, property boundaries, driveways & buildings? (16)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

Absorption disposal methods

• Is the effluent disposal area greater than 12 m up/6m down to the property boundary? (17)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Is the effluent disposal area greater than 6 m up/ 3 m down to pools, driveways and buildings? (18)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

Tanks

• Is the lid, manhole and inspection openings undamaged and in place? (19)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Is the tank accessible? (20)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Is the tank undamaged? (21)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Does the tank need a pump-out? (22)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

AWTS & Irrigation area

• Have service reports been sent to Council? (23)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Is the irrigation line buried? (24)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Is there sufficient irrigation area? (25)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Is the system operational at the time of inspection? (27)<br>Eg - chlorine tablets, UV lamp

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are irrigation warning signs present? (28)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Is effluent being evenly distributed? (29)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are garden hoses and fittings being used for irrigation? (30)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

Septic tanks, biological systems: Absorption trenches, evapotranspiration beds and mounds

• If there is a grease trap, is it satisfactory? (31)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Is greywater being disposed of satisfactorily? (32)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Is the disposal area showing signs of stress? (33)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Is the disposal area failing? (34)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

Pump-out

• Is there a pump-out contract? (35)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Is there a draw line with a cam lock? (36)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Does the operator have pump-out receipts? (37)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Is greywater being disposed of satisfactorily? (38)

  Yes

  No

  N/A

Comments

• Comments

• Inspection result

  Select 5 year approval 3 year approval 1 year approval Letter Local Government Order POEO Notice Works satisfactory - works may proceed Works unsatisfactory - further works required

  • 5 year approval
  • 3 year approval
  • 1 year approval
  • Letter
  • Local Government Order
  • POEO Notice
  • Works satisfactory - works may proceed
  • Works unsatisfactory - further works required

• Time at end of inspection

  Date

FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT ON-SITE SEWAGE MANAGEMENT

Why the need for an approval to operate?

• In 1997, an incident occurred where wastewater was found to be discharged into Wallis Lake, near Port Macquarie. The discharge came from a number of domestic septic tanks. As the Lake was used for aquaculture, an outbreak of Hepatitis A occurred, resulting in 444 people contracting the disease and one fatality.
  As a result, a review was undertaken and it found that councils were best placed to inspect and regulate the use of on-site sewage management system. Changes were made to the Local Government Act 1993 to require everyone with an on-site sewage management systems to obtain an approval to operate the system.
  The maximum time that an approval can be granted is five years and an approval is not transferable on the sale of a property.

Protecting your on-site sewage management system and effluent disposal area

• There are a number of simple things that you can do to protect your on-site sewage management system:
  • use a sink strainer to reduce waste reaching your septic tank;
  • clean the grease trap regularly (where fitted);
  • don’t discharge bleach, whiteners, nappy soakers etc into the system;
  • don’t discharge hygiene products, condoms, tampons, nappies and cotton buds into the system;
  • don’t use more than recommended amounts of disinfectants and detergents;
  • repair leaking taps and cisterns;
  • have the sludge pumped out every 4-5 years;
  • grow grass in your effluent disposal area and keep it regularly mown;
  • divert stormwater away from the area;
  • don’t drive or park vehicles over the area; and
  • keep livestock out of the area to avoid compacting of the soil.
  
  If the system becomes smelly, flush a cup of lime (calcium oxide) down the toilet each day for 7 days. This will reduce the pH and encourage bacterial growth, which reduces the odour.

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Failing system?

• If today’s inspection found that your system is not operating satisfactorily, it may not mean that you need to replace or upgrade your tank. Often the only work required is to repair or replace the effluent disposal area.
  Depending on the circumstances, Council may:
  • ask for work to be done;
  • ask you to submit details of work that you propose to do so that the system complies;
  • issue a Local Government Order to carry out work or submit details;
  • issue an Environmental Protection Notice under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997; or
  • take other regulatory action.

Designing an effluent disposal area

• The design of an effluent disposal system is based upon two key factors - the amount of wastewater generated by the household, and the soil type.
  WASTEWATER – the amount of wastewater that is generated by a household is generally determined to be 290 litres per bedroom (plus any study) per day for dwellings on mains water supply, and 230 litres per day for tank supply.
  SOIL – the type of soil is used to determine how much area is required to absorb the effluent produced by the household. The soil type is determined from 500 mm below the effluent disposal layer and is classified into one of six general categories: gravels & sands; sandy loams; loams; clay loams; light clays and medium to heavy clays.

• SOIL TYPE DESIGN IRRIGATION RATE DESIGN LOADING RATE
  (mm/week) (mm/day)
  Gravel & Sands 35 35
  Sandy Loams 35 25
  Loams 28 15
  Clay Loams 25 10
  Light Clays 20 8
  Medium to heavy clays 15 5

  

• Information on how to determine soil classifications can be found at: http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/164615/soil-texture.pdf http://vro.dpi.vic.gov.au/dpi/vro/vrosite.nsf/pages/soilhealth_texture_pdf/$FILE/QRG_Texture.pdf

• The most common effluent disposal methods are absorption trenches (generally associated with septic tanks) and spray irrigation.
  ABSORPTION TRENCHES are generally used to dispose of primary treated effluent (that is, effluent that has only been treated by detention).
  To determine the size of absorption trench required, the following formula is used:

• Length of trench = daily wastewater flow
  ____________________________
  design loading rate x width (m)
  
  For example, for a four bedroom home with sandy loam soil:
  
  = 1160
  ––––––––––––––––––––
  25 x 0.6
  
  = 77.3 metres
  

  

• Other important factors to take into consideration when designing an absorption trench are:
  • individual trenches cannot exceed 20 metres in length;
  • trenches must be a minimum of 1 metre apart;
  • maximum width of a trench is 0.6 metres; and
  • bottom of trenches must be level.
  SPRAY IRRIGATION is used to dispose of secondary treated effluent, most commonly from an aerated wastewater treatment system (AWTS) where disinfection occurs.
  To determine the size of spray irrigation area required, the following formula is used:

• Area = weekly wastewater flow
  ______________________
  design irrigation rate
  
  For example, for a four bedroom home with loam soil:
  
  = 1160 x 7
  –––––––––
  28
  = 290 square metres
  

  

• The irrigation line must be buried so that the moveable length of line cannot extend beyond the approved area.
  SUBSURFACE IRRIGATION may be used with secondary effluent that hasn’t been disinfected. The area required is determine in the same way as that for spray irrigation.
  In both cases, Council’s policy requires you to designate a reserve area that could be used in the future if the effluent disposal area is damaged or requires resting.

Further information:

• Further information is available on Council’s website at www.thehills.nsw.gov.au or call Council during office hours on 9843 0555 and speak to an Environmental Health Officer.