With construction of the new Wyangala sewerage scheme now complete, the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) - Water is scheduled to transfer ownership and operation of the service to Cowra Council by June 30, 2020.
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"While Wyangala residents and businesses will be paying sewer charges from July 1, 2020 for the first time, the proposed charges to be levied on Wyangala properties are to be the same as those levied on Cowra town properties for the next 30 years," Cowra Mayor, Councillor Bill West said.
"An important condition of Council assuming control of the Wyangala system from DPI - Water was that they provide a hand-over payment to run the system for the next 30 years, ensuring that connection to the system for Wyangala residents would be equitable to charges for the rest of Cowra Shire.
"This will lead to a vastly-improved service for Wyangala residents with no added burden to Cowra ratepayers for the next 30 years."
Councillor Judi Smith said while it has been a long process, she believes Wyangala residents will benefit from the new system.
"This has been a very long process that we have worked through with Water NSW and various other bodies and we finally have, what we believe is a you-beaut sewerage system that will serve the needs of the town and hopefully the Reflections Park as well," she said.
Councillor Ray Walsh said the old system was unable to meet the demand of the village, as well as the volume of visitors and tourists to the area.
"The old scheme as it was was totally unsatisfactory from an environmental point of view," he said.
"The use of the old system was totally unable to cope with what was coming into it so I hope that even though this is going to cost the residents some money to join Cowra Council on having a sewerage system, it's something that was absolutely necessary for the environmental point of view and also particularly from the tourism point of view out there, in that village and in Reflections Park."
Separate charges for the Wyangala sewerage system access and usage will be levied on the 2020/2021 Rate Notice.
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The proposed charges are detailed in Cowra Council's Draft Delivery Program 2017/2018 to 2020/2021 and Draft Operational Plan 2020/2021, including the Draft Long Term Financial Plan 2020/2021 to 2029/2030 which is currently on public exhibition.
Council invites the public to review this document and will receive submissions up to 4pm, Friday, June 12, 2020.
