Daniel Brauer, Group Manager, Planning and Development with Mid Coast Water has supplied the following info:
MidCoast Water has recently made applications for funding the provision of sewerage services to seven unserviced villages located in the Great Lakes local government area. These villages include North Arm Cove, Pindimar, Bundabah, Stroud Road, Coomba Park, Allworth and Nerong.
As you are aware, the provision of services to these villages has been considered for some time with MidCoast Water’s preliminary investigations dating back to 1999. In August this year MidCoast Water submitted several expressions of interest for funding a series of water supply and sewerage projects under the Restart NSW Regional Water and Waste Water Backlog Program including these seven villages. This program is administered by DPI Water and further information can be found at the following website:
http://www.water.nsw.gov.au/urban-water/regional-water-and-waste-water-…
MidCoast Water is one of 39 eligible councils and water utilities who were invited to submit expressions of interest for funding from the current allocation of $110M in this program. The conditions of the program permitted applicants to seek funding of up to 50% of the total project cost. In addition, the program imposed a cap at $45,000 per connection for the provision of services to unserved communities.
MidCoast Water’s submissions encompassed the following projects:
- Nabiac Water Supply Scheme (Total cost $32.4M, Funding sought $9.6M)
- Gloucester Water Treatment Plant Replacement (Total cost $5M, Funding sought $2.5M)
- Gloucester Sewerage Treatment Plant Replacement (Total cost $8M, Funding sought $4M)
- Pacific Palms Sewerage Treatment Plant Stage 1 (Total cost $3M, Funding sought $1.5M)
- Provision of sewerage services to seven unserviced communities (Total cost $57.5M, Funding sought $27.1M)
Items 1 – 4 are currently budgeted for within MidCoast Water’s long term financial plan. These projects have been given high priority as they address immediate needs for improvements in water supply and sewerage services.
The upfront and ongoing operational costs of providing sewerage services to seven unserviced communities (Item 5) have been the primary factors preventing these projects moving beyond the investigation phase. While the environmental and public health concerns in these communities remain, to date we have been unable to include these projects within our long term financial plan as investments of this scale would ultimately result in substantial rate increases across the existing customer base.
Notwithstanding this, Government subsidies do provide an opportunity for these projects to be delivered in a more affordable manner. In the event one or all of the unserviced communities is successful in attracting funding, MidCoast Water would need to fund the balance of the total project costs through direct investment and contributions from new customers within these communities. As you point out, it would be relevant to have regard for the investments individuals have made into their on-site systems in this process.
Specifically in relation to North Arm Cove, the submission for the provision for sewerage services was based on the current estimated total cost of $11.4M, of which we applied for 50% ($5.7M).
The Government is expected to inform applicants of the outcomes of the expression of interest process in mid-October. If we are invited to submit a detailed application for any one of the projects listed above, we will need to demonstrate the affordability of the project. In doing so, MidCoast Water will need to consider the upfront investments and ongoing costs to operate new infrastructure.
In addition to the Regional Water and Waste Water Backlog Program, in September MidCoast Water also expressed interest for funding the same set of projects under the Hunter Infrastructure and Investment Fund. Further details can be found at the following website:
http://www.hunterinfrastructure.nsw.gov.au/Portals/0/Hunter_HIIF_Guidel…
The outcomes from this expression of interest process were due at the beginning of October.
The revision of our Integrated Water Cycle Management Strategy, ‘Our Water, Our Future’ provides our community with an opportunity to have their say on how water and sewerage services are delivered into the future. As part of the current survey we have provided the community with an indication of the economic impacts resulting from the investment in different water and sewerage solutions, including the provision of sewerage to unserviced communities. We are encouraging our community members to participate in the survey and contribute to the direction we set for these services into the future.
In summary, we are committed to pursuing funding opportunities to ensure the provision of sustainable and affordable water supply and sewerage services. The costs of providing services to unserviced communities is significant and even with government assistance, MidCoast Water will need to determine with the community if and how such projects can be delivered in an affordable manner.
Daniel
Daniel has indicated that he is happy to come and talk with the Cove community and has at this stage pencilled in the February meeting of the Residents Association in his diary.
