Council operates and maintains four water networks:

Drinking Water System Performance

 

Council's drinking water system comprises:

  • 14,180 connected properties, serving a population of 37,500
  • Council is a reticulator with 93% of the water supply provided as a fully treated bulk supply by Rous County Council. The remainder of the supply is drawn from the Richmond River and two bores (1.2 ML/d)
  • 1 storage dam (total capacity 66 ML)
  • 1 clarifier and sand filter treatment works (3 ML/d), 10 service reservoirs (44 ML), 4 pumping stations, 58 km of transfer and trunk mains and 274 km of reticulation.

Every year Council's performance as a drinking water supplier is benchmarked against the rest of NSW and Australia. 

The performance of all NSW Local Water Utilities (LWU) is reported on the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment's website. 

Wastewater System Performance

 

Council's wastewater system comprises:

  • 13,940 connected properties, serving a population of 36,100
  • 4 sewage treatment works providing advanced secondary and advanced tertiary treatment
  • 74,750 EP treatment capacity (Intermittent Extended Aeration (Activated Sludge) with Membrane Biological Reduction), 116 pumping stations, 78 km of rising mains and 246 km of gravity trunk mains and reticulation
  • 9% of effluent was recycled (Indicator 27) and the treated effluent is discharged to river and ocean
  • 4 Pollution Incident Response Management Plans (PIRMPs) for their sewage treatment works.

Every year Council's performance in treating wastewater is benchmarked against the rest of NSW and Australia. 

The performance of all NSW Local Water Utilities (LWU) is reported on the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment's website. 

Recycled Water System Performance

 

Council's recycled water system comprises:

  • Almost 2,000 connected properties
  • Two recycled water treatment plants
  • Four service reservoirs with storage capacity of seven megalitres
  • Two pumping stations

Dial Before You Dig

Council keeps records and maps of all Council infrastructure. For further information, please use the Dial Before You Dig service:

Dial Before You Dig www.1100.com.au

WATER TREATMENT PLANTS

 

Ballina Shire Council operates the drinking water treatment plant at Marom Creek which supplies the communities of Wardell and Meerschaum Vale with high quality drinking water. Rous County Council operates the other two plants.

WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS

Ballina Shire Council operates several wastewater treatment plants that treat our community’s wastewater.  

Council has to meet strict guidelines about the quality of drinking water, treated wastewater and recycled water.

Click here for more information on our water quality standards

WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT TOURS

By touring our facilities you will be able to go behind the scenes and understand the important process of wastewater treatment. 

Lennox Head Recycled Water Treatment Plant you will see how your water is being recycled and reused.

Each tour is led by a Wastewater Engineer or Treatment Plant operator and can take about 30 - 45 minutes to complete. Tours are free and are arranged periodically. If you are interested in attending a site tour, please call Council's Wastewater Team on 1300 864 444. 

Please note: The availability to tour our treatment plants, may be impacted by current COVID-19 restrictions. 

NSW Health COVID-19 Sewage Surveillance Program

The NSW Sewage Surveillance Program tests untreated sewage for fragments of the COVID-19 (SARSCoV- 2). Testing sewage can help track infections in the community and provide early warning of an increase in infections.

These tests provide data to support NSW Health’s response to COVID-19. An infected person can shed virus in their faeces even if they do not have any symptoms, and shedding can continue for several weeks after they are no longer infectious. For more information about this program visit the NSW Health website. 

Ballina Shire Council is currently providing wastewater samples to NSW Health from our Lennox Head, Ballina and Alstonville Treatment Plants. NSW Health is responsible for publishing these results. Results are regularly updated and available to the public on the NSW Health reporting website. 

The current NSW testing locations have been determined by NSW Health based on areas of concern with advice from a steering committee and direction from the NSW Chief Health Officer.

(website updated 2 September 2021)