Lack of sewers blocks development

By JESSE GRAHAM
YARRA Valley Water is flushing chances for development down the drain by delaying sewerage system upgrades, according to a Monbulk real estate agent.
But the water provider says its plans to replace hills septic tanks are on track.
Richard Licciard said Monbulk’s Main Road was divided over the issue.
One side of the street has a sewerage system and the other side relies on septic tanks.
He said food premises cannot be built on areas without reticulated sewerage systems because areas with septic tanks no longer meet Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) standards.
This heavily restricts business opportunities on the Lilydale side of the shopping strip.
In Kallista’s town centre no new food outlets can be established until a new system replaces its septic tanks.
Mr Licciardi said only establishments that were in place before the change of standards can continue to run.
This would restrict development on the former Kallista service station site on Monbulk Road, which has been vacant for almost seven years.
Mr Licciardi said Yarra Valley Water was responsible for the situation because of a lack of action in its Backlog Sewerage Program.
“Nothing will change. Residential values will be held back. There’ll be no development,” he said.
On 31 May last year the Mail reported that the Backlog Program would provide 17,000 homes with access to sewerage by 2025.
Mr Licciardi said Yarra Valley Water “needs to make it work”.
“Without it Main Road cannot be developed on the Lilydale side,” he said.
“The program was announced in around 2007, 2008, but, of course, it didn’t happen.”
Mr Licciardi said development was not the only concern with the delay.
“A lack of sewerage is an environmental danger,” he said.
“In the long term this is where pollution is coming into our creeks.
Yarra Valley Water sustainable development general manager Sam Austin said the Monbulk and Kallista areas would receive sewerage systems between 2017 and 2024.
“To help us set our priorities for sewering municipalities, councils complete Domestic Wastewater Management Plans,” Mr Austin said.
He said the projects were prioritised by area.
Areas not capable of containing their own septic tank effluent, which could become an environmental danger, were top of the list.
“Criteria in the prioritisation process include the risk to public health, customer willingness to connect, proximity and condition of local waterways, local amenities, and the property’s proximity to existing sewerage infrastructure,” Mr Austin said.
There are 914 properties in Monbulk and 686 in Kallista in the Sewerage Backlog Program.
Visit www.yvw.com.au for more information.