Bayside Council has raised a number of objections to Sydney Water application to continue to discharge wastewater overflow into the Mill Stream which flows into Botany Bay.
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Sydney Water owns and operates eight Emergency Relief Structures (ERS) that discharge wastewater to the Mill Stream during wet weather.
Bayside Council has said it has experienced 19 such overflow events per year resulting in approximately 162 litres of discharged wastewater.
Mill Stream flows directly into Botany Bay, a key recreational swimming area of the Sydney region bordered predominantly by Cook Park.
Foreshore Beach on the other side of Botany Bay is also impacted from sewage overflows discharging to nearby Mill Stream and continues to be graded as very poor in the State Government's annual beach report.
Sydney Water must apply for an authorisation from the Commonwealth Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts (DITRDCA) to operate the ERS. The authorisation must be renewed every three years.
No decision has been made on the authorisation renewal.
Bayside Council previously objected to Sydney Water's application for authorisation for the operation of overflow discharge in the Mill Stream for the 2021-2023 period,
The council has raised the same concerns on the grounds of the risk to human health, safety risk, the environmental impact including water quality and odour, and community values including the loss of amenity and recreational opportunities.
"The anticipated increase in extreme weather conditions due to climate change may lead to more frequent discharge events," the council said in its letter to the Airport Environment Officer at DITRDCA.
Under the Mill Stream Environmental Management Plan 2024-2027 Sydney Water has to undertake a number of upgrade works.
These include construction and implementation of wastewater screening at Pump Station, Hydraulic Improvement Plan, and a desilting program.
Bayside Council is concerned that the plan does not address the longer term strategies and works.
Councillor Scott Morrissey told this week's (May 22) council meeting there is no timeline for the works to be completed.
"There are five major actions in the plan but what's missing is when it (the overflows) will actually stop," he said.
"That's the key point. It's great that Sydney Water is taking all these actions but it doesn't actually tell our community when they are going to stop putting poo into the pond. That's the heart of the matter."
Sydney Water has advised that any substantive works will not be completed until the end of the decade and would have the potential cost of millions of dollars which are not budgeted, the council said.
"Council is requesting a clear and deliverable timeline as to when Sydney Water will be in a position to cease this environmentally dangerous practice," the council said in the letter to DITRDCA.
The council is requesting a quarterly update on the progress of infrastructure upgrade actions by Sydney Water.
The council said Sydney Water must continue to notify the council and Sydney Airport of any overflow event within 24 hours.
