Fears sewerage is under the pump

By Shaun Inguanzo
A COUPLE claims red tape has thwarted an effort to probe higher-density developments and their impact on Noble Park’s sewerage and waterway network.
Bernie Howard and wife Angela have lived in Diggins Court, in Noble Park, for 31 years, and objected last year to a multi-dwelling development at 4 Diggins Court because they say the street’s sewerage and water services could be placed under strain by new homes.
Their worry follows the concerns of 43 residents in Guild Avenue, Noble Park, who signed a petition in December objecting to three two-storey units being built because they feared the development might reduce water pressure in the street.
But just two weeks before the Howards were to front the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal hearing, the couple withdrew the objection, and slammed Greater Dandenong Council and South East Water for failing to provide enough information for their case.
Mr Howard said he and his wife were concerned that drainage and sewerage systems installed more than 40 years ago would not cope with an influx of multi-dwelling sites in the Noble park area, including Diggins Court.
But the financial cost of a VCAT battle and the lack of information the pair had to form an argument forced them to withdraw before the hearing in January.
Greater Dandenong director of engineering services, Tim Tamlin, hit back at the claims and said officers would not grant developers permits unless systems to manage stormwater and sewerage were included in the application.
“It is something they have to comply with to get the permit,” he said.
“If more stormwater discharge is coming off the property than the existing drain network can handle, they have to comply by putting on site a detention system, which usually consists of a series of really large pipes under the driveway, where it acts like a big storage tank.
“Water fills up and the storage slowly feeds into the stormwater drain.”
Mr Tamlin said he was surprised to hear that council staff had not provided information to the Howards.
“If they flagged questions with staff, I would be very surprised if they didn’t take it on board,” he said.
South East Water spokeswoman Melissa O’Neill said its sewerage system was adequate for Noble Park, now and in the future.
“Our current monitoring program shows that there is adequate capacity in the main sewerage infrastructure to service the existing needs of Noble Park as well as catering for forecast development currently planned for the area,” she said.
Ms O’Neill said the company was pumping funds into a program to monitor south-eastern sewerage catchments.
“We are investing up to $4 million in a Sewerage Catchment Assessment Program which is currently modelling and monitoring sewerage flows in critical catchment areas within South East Water’s region, including much of Noble Park,” she said.