In short:
Sydney Water is proposing a new facility at Camellia-Rosehill which would flush 70 million litres of treated wastewater into Parramatta River.
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which → propose → River
The proposal has received more than 400 public submissions, with most highlighting concerns around environmental and wildlife impacts.
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most → receive → impacts
If approved, construction will begin in 2028 and is slated for completion in 2032.
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construction → approve → 2032
Just months after the NSW government spent $1.26 million reopening two new swimming sites along Parramatta River, Sydney Water is proposing to pump 70 million litres of treated wastewater into the river every day.
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Water → spend → river
It would be enough to fill around 35 Olympic-sized swimming pools daily.
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It → fill → pools
The proposal is for a new wastewater treatment plant to be built in the city's west at Camellia-Rosehill by 2032, connected by a 5.3-kilometre largely tunnelled pipeline to a river outlet at Meadowbank Park.
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plant → build → Park
Project delivery lead Caine Mertens told the ABC the highly treated wastewater would be cleaner than the current river water and would improve local water quality.
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wastewater → tell → quality
"The facility will treat wastewater to an advanced standard using reverse osmosis before releasing,"he said.
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using → treat → osmosis
"Water in this project will be treated to a very high level with lots of safeguards, lots of redundancy."
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Water → treat → redundancy
New infrastructure needed to meet population growth
Sydney's Northern Suburbs Ocean Outfall Sewer and the North Head Water Resource Recovery Facility currently process wastewater for approximately 1.7 million people across the city's western and northern suburbs.
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Sewer → need → suburbs
However, Sydney Water said this existing infrastructure would reach capacity by 2031.
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infrastructure → say → 2031
It said the Camellia-Rosehill facility was needed to meet the needs of the additional 230,000 people forecast to live in the area over the next 30 years.
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facility → say → years
"This is all about relieving that pressure on our wastewater system," Mr Mertens said.
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Mertens → relieve → system
Ian Wright is a former Sydney Water scientist who spent 18 years with the company, and is now an associate professor and water science researcher at Western Sydney University.
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who → spend → University
He said treating raw effluent reliably was difficult, and expressed concern with the proposal.
"To put treated water, treated from sewage, into the Parramatta River is actually unbelievable to me,"Professor Wright said.
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Wright → say → River
"Pumps break, filters block.
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filters → break → ?
All kinds of things can happen, so you may be able to achieve high quality most of the time, probably not all the time.
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you → happen → time
"
The project is being assessed as a state significant development application by the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure.
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project → assess → Planning
Sydney Water, local councils and the state government over recent years have made efforts to improve water quality to establish swimmable sites along Parramatta River.
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Water → make → River
Just last year, the NSW government spent $1.26 million opening two new local swimming sites at Bedlam Bay in Gladesville and Putney Beach.
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government → spend → Gladesville
They are both located several kilometres downstream of the proposed Meadowbank outlet, but the area is also home to a thriving ecology of mangroves, wetlands and wildlife.
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area → locate → mangroves
"Water quality in the Parramatta River is not that good, the locals know that …
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locals → know → that
Personally, I do swim in the river, but I keep my head out," Professor Wright said.
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Wright → swim → head
Sydney Water said swimability would not be impacted by the proposal if approved.
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swimability → say → proposal
"Our assessments have tested both water quality at the discharge spot and at locations downstream, including swimming spots, and the investigations we have done show that water quality will be improved at those spots over the time," Mr Mertens said.
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Mertens → test → time
The riverside banks of Meadowbank are home to endangered migratory birds and wetlands, still recovering from decades of industrialisation.
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banks → recover → industrialisation
Sydney Water's proposal has already received more than 400 public submissions, with most highlighting concerns around environmental and wildlife impacts.
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most → receive → impacts
Local resident Andrew Yeung shared his concerns, given the area's high recreational use.
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Yeung → share → use
"We've got swimming areas, three downstream, and a junior sailing club, as well as three boat ramps," he said.
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he → get → areas
"We're very concerned about potential for a combination of factors heading over a tipping point and creating an environmental disaster.
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We → head → disaster
"This is an endangered migratory bird habitat … we had millions of baby prawns just behind me for months," he said of the nearby wetlands surrounding Sydney Olympic Park, which are connected to Parramatta River.
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which → have → River
Sydney Water said the proposed facility would have several fallback mechanisms.
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facility → say → mechanisms
"Any off-spec water can go back to the existing system, and only high-quality water will go to Meadowbank," Mr Mertens said.
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Mertens → go → Meadowbank
The organisation said the fallback mechanism for water quality issues still requires someone to manually override the system.
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mechanism → say → system
If it is a power outage, then that is managed through our control system," Mr Mertens said.
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Mertens → manage → system
Before any water can be released into Parramatta River, Sydney Water must obtain an environmental protection licence (EPL) by the NSW Environmental Protection Authority (EPA).
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Water → release → Authority
"The EPA has been very clear on their requirements for us for this project," Mr Mertens said.
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Mertens → say → project
Under current NSW planning laws, the EPL would not be issued until after the project is approved and prior to any discharges occurring.
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discharges → issue → laws
The EPA said in a statement it considers a range of factors when setting license limits, which it said is in line with the Protection of Environment Operations Act 1997.
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it → say → Act
"The EPA will set licence conditions, including discharge limits, based on information in the proponents' Environmental Impact Statement, EPA policies and guidelines and considering the characteristics and uses of the receiving environment," it said.
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it → set → environment
…and 12 more, not listed.
The Aporia