Community consultation extended to encourage feedback on proposal
Published on 26 August 2024
The local community will now have an extra week to have their say on the proposal for the long-term solution to managing treated water at Trafalgar Landfill, with community consultation closing Sunday 1 September.
Community consultation opened in July, and Baw Baw Shire Council has extended the consultation close date for the local community to give their thoughts on a proposal to release treated leachate, also known as recycled water, from the closed Trafalgar Landfill, into the environment through a surface drain.
The extension to the consultation is a result of community feedback gathered at an in-person workshop hosted at Trafalgar Community Centre, where the community requested additional information about the proposal.
Baw Baw Shire Mayor Cr Annemarie McCabe appreciated all the feedback gathered from the workshop, and acknowledged the importance of ensuring the community feel that they can make a well-informed decision during the consultation period.
“Thank you to all of the community members who joined our Environmental Sustainability team at the community workshop last week. We’ve heard your feedback and have taken every step to get the answers you’ve requested,” Cr McCabe said.
Information requested by the community includes an additional report on treated water quality, which saw Council prepare a new report to assess the reverse osmosis test results from May 2024 (when the water was last tested), against the Environmental Reference Standard (ERS).
This report is now available to view on the Trafalgar Landfill consultation page on Baw Baw Connect, Council’s online engagement platform.
“We appreciate the responses that we’ve had so far, and I’d encourage the community to visit the consultation page to read through the proposal and give their feedback,” Cr McCabe added.
Currently, irrigation is the primary way recycled water is managed at the site. However, Council is now required to find another solution to manage recycled water when irrigation cannot occur during winter’s wetter months.
As a result of an extensive investigation, the proposal to release the treated leachate into the environment through a surface drain is the most feasible option that Council has considered and poses no risk to people or harm to the natural environment.
If you’d like to review the proposal and provide your feedback, simply visit Baw Baw Connect (www.bawbawconnect.com.au/trafalgarlandfill) and have your say, your way.
The consultation page also includes further information on the leachate management process, as well as the other options that were considered by Council, and the additional information sourced as a result of the community workshop evening.