Sewage treatment

The Griffith sewerage system comprises of approximately 7500 property connections, and 30 pump stations transporting sewage to the Griffith Water Reclamation Plant (GWRP) located west of the city for treatment.

The GWRP underwent a major upgrade in 2012 at a cost of $26M and is a state-of-the-art Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) type plant. At the time of commissioning, it was the largest of its type in NSW.

The plant uses membranes in its final treatment state to remove organics, bacteria and viruses down to 1.05 microns in size, thus producing an extremely high-quality effluent. Treated effluent is reused where possible onsite or discharged to the Murrumbidgee Irrigation (MI) drainage system (under EPA licence). The GWRP treats approximately 7 megalitres per day.

The Bilbul sewerage system comprises a network of approximately 70 property connections, 1 pumping station and a small treatment plant located on the south side of the township. The system largely serves residential type sewerage.

The Bilbul Sewage Treatment Plant was constructed in the early 1990s and utilises two non-aerated oxidation lagoons and a maturation lagoon prior to discharge into evaporation lagoons. The design capacity of the works is 310 Equivalent Persons (EP).

The Yenda sewerage system comprises a network of approximately 400 property connections, 3 pumping stations and a treatment plant on the northern side of town. The system serves residential, commercial and industrial development in Yenda village.

The sewage treatment scheme at Yenda was constructed in the 1980s to service the township and treat trade waste from nearby wineries. The design capacity of the works is 34,000 Equivalent Persons (EP). The sewage enters an initial lagoon, which is fully mixed and aerated, followed by facultative lagoons (no aeration - for nitrogen removal). 3 final lagoons are used for polishing before discharge into an irrigation drainage channel that leads to Mirrool Creek. 

For properties that intend to connect to Council's sewer network via a pumped methodology, called pressure sewer, firstly an application must be made to Council and approval given.

A pressure sewer installation typically requires the building's drainage pipework to connect to a tank with a pump installed. The property's sewer is then pumped into Council's collection system via a boundary kit which contains an isolation valve and a non-return valve

For households with a pressure sewer installation, read our information pack(PDF, 2MB).

For developers and contractors, download our adopted pressure sewerage technical specifications(PDF, 3MB).