Wastewater starts with us

Do you know the wastewater treatment process? The journey begins with you.

When you flush the toilet, have a shower or drain the sink you are generating wastewater. This wastewater is pumped to one of Council’s four state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plants where it begins a rigorous treatment process. This process uses air, filtration, chemicals and ultra-violet disinfection to produce water that is safe to release back into the water cycle.

This treated water has low levels of nitrogen and phosphorus, is often crystal clear and must meet exceed strict NSW Environment Protection Authority guidelines to ensure the quality of the treated wastewater.

Ballina Shire Council is at the forefront of industry best practice, and since the introduction of our recycled water service, Council has diverted millions of litres of water from being discharged to the ocean. Instead, this water was pumped back into homes to wash clothes and flush toilets.

Water and wastewater in numbers:

• Our four treatment plant operate 24 hours a day, 364 days a year
• We supply 10.5 million litres of water to our community each day
• We treat 10.9 million litres of wastewater each day
• We services over 42,000 residents
• Ballina shire has 332 kms of water pipelines
• On average, Ballina shire homes use over 3,000 litres of water each week, which equates to about 37 bath tubs

For more information visit our wastewater webpage or contact our Wastewater Engineers on 1300 864 444.