Wollondilly Shire Council is calling for help from the NSW Government to urgently address a substantial shortfall in planned sewer capacity in the Wilton Growth Area, which means that delivery of 12,000 already rezoned lots will soon grind to a halt.

Council has expressed its frustration with Sydney Water’s recent advice that long promised upgrades to the Bingara Gorge Sewage Treatment Plant will delay construction of the homes. Council has condemned the lack of coordination between State planning and infrastructure delivery agencies.

With tens of thousands of homes planned in Wollondilly, the Shire is more than playing its part in addressing the housing crisis, but this is all at risk due to the Sydney Water backflip.

Mayor Matt Gould said, “Council has regularly and repeatedly raised concerns about the lack of infrastructure and inadequate plans for delivery of that infrastructure in the State-led growth area at Wilton, particularly when it comes to the provision of wastewater.”

“We are now facing a ridiculous situation where housing supply is being stopped by the lack of investment by Sydney Water. Wollondilly is willing to do its fair share to address the housing crisis, through the provision of housing at Wilton, however the failure of Sydney Water to properly plan for and provide the necessary enabling infrastructure is now interfering with this.”

“I am extremely frustrated that Sydney Water has backflipped on previous advice and has now confirmed that thousands of houses in Wilton, much needed to support the NSW Government’s push to address the housing crisis, will be delayed by years.”

“Instead of accelerating the Bingara Gorge Treatment Plant upgrades, which we understand were originally planned for completion this financial year, we are now being told that the upgrades will won’t even commence until next year. We are calling upon Sydney Water to uphold its previous commitments to upgrade the Bingara Gorge Treatment Plant, preferably by mid-2025, to address the current shortfall.”

“Unfortunately, our new residents currently have to rely on an interim solution of having their sewerage trucked out of the area, with an upgrade to the Bingara Gorge Water Recycling Plant not expected to be complete until at least 2027 to service another 4000 homes.”

“Council has been informed by Sydney Water that their planning has found that the servicing pathway is ‘more complex than originally anticipated’. This is something that should have been considered much earlier in the planning for this growth area.”

“We also have no assurance that almost 13,000 homes planned for Appin will have the necessary water and sewerage infrastructure in place before construction begins, so they may face a similar situation.”

“The long-term plan for providing wastewater services in the Greater Macarthur Growth Region is through a new Upper Nepean Advanced Water Recycling Facility, with the current estimate for service delivery in 2032. We need this facility to be in operation by 2032 at the latest, and are asking for a firm commitment from the Government on this date.”

“Once again, this situation shows the importance of having infrastructure in place before development occurs, which is what Council has been consistently advocating for.”

“I thank the Minster for Planning, The Hon. Paul Scully MP for his leadership in ensuring infrastructure plans are in place before development and ask for his help to get this issue fixed urgently”.

Council is seeking the intervention of the Premier and Water Minister to direct Sydney Water to address the shortfall in the short and medium term and provide certainty that the longer-term Upper Nepean solution will be delivered by 2032.

Council will write to the Managing Director of Sydney Water expressing its disappointment in the situation and asking that Sydney Water uphold its previous commitments and accelerate the urgently required infrastructure for Wilton.

Council will also write to the Premier and the Minister for Water requesting their urgent intervention to direct Sydney Water to upgrade the Bingara Gorge Treatment Plant as previously promised, preferably by mid-2025.