By JESSE GRAHAM
Backlog program for only one half of town…
A LACK of communication has left a town divided, with one half of Selby receiving sewerage networks and the other set to wait 15 years for theirs.
Residents in Selby and Belgrave are split, with one half of the town covered by South East Water, while the other is serviced by Yarra Valley Water.
Julie Howard-Whale, who lives in the Yarra Valley Water side of town, contacted the Mail after she realised that the town was receiving works under the Sewerage Backlog Program from South East Water – but only one part.
Frustrated that the works would only affect one side of the town, leaving 170 properties in the area waiting, Ms Whale said the town often reeked from septic tanks leaking or failing.
She had been advised when she moved to the town 10 years ago that sewerage would be installed in 2009 – South East Water’s works began in October last year, servicing 700 properties in Selby and Belgrave.
Yarra Valley Water confirmed on Thursday 27 February that their works in the area, however, are scheduled for 2029/2030.
A spokesperson for Yarra Valley Water said that Yarra Ranges Council had failed to identify it for the program.
“The majority of unsewered properties within the YVW section of Selby were not originally included on our Sewerage Backlog Program as Yarra Ranges Council did not identify these properties as requiring sewerage,” the spokesperson said.
“Following further investigation and discussion with Yarra Ranges Council, a number of properties have subsequently been added to the program.”
However, Yarra Valley Water said that areas were re-prioritised every five years, and that service time for Selby and Belgrave could be readjusted in their next reprioritisation in three to four years.
In a Frequently Asked Questions page relating to the Selby area’s sewerage works, South East Water confirmed that there was “direct evidence of waste from failing household septic tanks polluting groundwater, waterways and the environment.”
Ms Whale said that, if she had known that running sewerage for the area was going to be so far away, she would have reconsidered moving to the area in the first place.
“A whole of 170 homes in Selby have been completely forgotten and left off,” she said.
“It’s just absolutely ridiculous.”
Gembrook MP Brad Battin said he was going to bring the matter up with Minister for Water, Agriculture and Food Security Peter Walsh, and advocate for the town to be serviced as soon as possible.
“We’re following it up with the minister, going back through the water board to find out what happened – why the delay and why there was a lack of communication back to residents,” he said.
Mr Battin said he expected an answer from the minister in around six weeks, and would pass the communication on to members of the public, but urged residents not to point the finger.
“I’m not going to lay the blame,” he said.
“There is a communication hiccup – whether it was Yarra Valley Water going to the council or vice versa, but I don’t think anyone’s arguing about the need – just arguing on the timeline for it.”
Yarra Ranges Council was contacted for comment on the issue, but a spokesperson said that Yarra Valley Water was the relevant authority with the Sewerage Backlog Program.
The Sewerage Backlog works undertaken by South East Water will cover 700 properties in the area.
For more information on the Sewerage Backlog Program, visit www.sew.com.au/BelgraveSelby or https://www.yvw.com.au/Home/Inyourcommunity/Seweragebacklogprogram/index.htm.
