Council has been successful in securing NSW State Government funding of $519,727.20 excluding GST from the NSW State Government to under the safe and secure water program to deliver the strategy.
In July 2022, the NSW Government introduced significant changes to the NSW Best Practice Water Supply and Sewerage Framework.
Strategic Planning for water supply and sewerage is now undertaken using the Integrated Planning and Reporting framework with the ‘Regulatory and Assurance Framework for Local Water Utilities’ outlining how the Department of Planning and Environment applies its risk-based and outcomes-focused approach to the regulation and assurance of local water utilities.
Under the regulatory and assurance framework, local water utilities are responsible for developing and implementing their own strategic planning. The Department’s overall priority is to ensure strategic planning outcomes – outlined in the framework – are achieved to a reasonable standard.
At Federation Council’s latest monthly meeting on September 26, Cr Andrew Kennedy said council’s fee commitment is “money well spent”.
“We’ve got subdivisions and we’ve got people wanting to come to town. This is a big step in the right direction.”
Council’s General Manager Adrian Butler said council heard the Friday before the meeting another grant application for this work was rejected. “I’ll be very keen to see what the new government’s intentions are,” he added.
Council’s director engineering services Theo Panagopoulos advised the grant received from the NSW Government has a number of milestones required to be achieved by council with the final milestone required to be completed by the end of June 2025.
“Milestone 1 has a due date of 30 September 2023 and involves the completion of the execution of the funding deed by council and the department, and the engagement of consultants to undertake the required investigations and reports to deliver a Strategic Planning Strategy for Federation Council,” he said.
The engagement includes many activities, including an Issues Paper inclusive of population and water cycle analysis, performance assessment, capacity assessment, bulk sewer modelling, 72 hour composite sampling and testing for the Corowa STP and preparation of a 30-year baseline asset renewal plan; an Options Assessment Report inclusive of evaluation and assessment of water distribution networks, demand management, sewerage collection and transfer systems and sewage treatment plants and effluent re-use.
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