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Council Makes Submission to Water Inquiry

A delegation from Wingecarribee Shire Council headed by Mayor Gordon Lewis travelled to Sydney on Tuesday to make its submission to the Inquiry into water and sewerage provision in regional New South Wales. 

Joining the Mayor were General Manager Mike Hyde along with Wingecarribee Shire's Director of Technical Services Michael Brearley, Manager of Water and Sewerage, Selva Selvaratnam and Sewerage Projects Coordinator, Mark Williams.  Also at the Inquiry making a submission on the day was the Southern Group of Councils, of which Wingecarribee Shire Council is a member.

General Manager Mike Hyde said that back in August 2007, the Minister for Water Utilities, Nathan Rees announced an Inquiry into the institutional and regulatory arrangements by which town water supply and sewerage services are provided in country New South Wales. 

"The last review was back in 1993, but the landscape has changed considerably since then with drought, climate change and a more sustainable approach to our resources now very much on the agenda," said Mr Hyde, suggesting that this, coupled with population growth, will continue to put a lot of pressure on water and sewerage systems across New South Wales, prompting the need for a review.

Mayor Gordon Lewis told the Inquiry that whilst Wingecarribee Shire Council acknowledges the need for and fully supports the NSW Water Utilities Inquiry, his council's operations are in very good shape and would like to continue in the present form.

"We believe our submission will demonstrate that Wingecarribee Shire Council provides reliable, viable, cost effective, sustainable and professionally managed water and sewerage services to its community and we would be happy to keep providing this service well into the future."

The Mayor explained that expenditure in Councils 2008/09 Budget for the water and sewerage funds total $35.3m, which is around 31% of the total annual budget, with water and sewerage operations employing a staff of around 56 local people.

"As well as servicing our four main towns, we reticulate water to many of our outlying villages and rural areas, with something like 95% of our residents served by a town water supply," he said.

"As a community we are very proud of our water and sewerage services," he told the Inquiry. "It is reliable, the water quality is outstanding and the sewage we treat leaves our treatment plants in great shape."

General Manager Mike Hyde said that Wingecarribee Shire Council provided a comprehensive written submission in addition to appearing before the Inquiry Panel on Tuesday.

"We gave a detailed explanation why we believed that our council is best placed to provide the water and sewerage functions rather than Sydney Water or another organisation," said Mr Hyde, telling the Inquiry, "We are large enough to achieve economies of scale yet small enough to provide responsive service when issue s arise."

Mr Hyde said that Wingecarribee Shire Council's water and sewerage operations won a State award in 2006 (the last time these awards were given) recognising its competent performance in sewerage service provision.

"The panel appeared to be attentive to our arguments and we now need to wait until August when it will report to Government and then September when the Government will give its response," said Mr Hyde, who believes that if the decision is made on merit, Wingecarribee Shire Council will continue to operate water and sewerage services.

Contact details
Mike Hyde
Tel: 02 48680888
wscmail@wsc.nsw.gov.au

© 2008 Wingecarribee Shire Council
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