Property owners at Killcare Heights are sick of having to rely on costly pump-out services and are calling on Central Coast Council to fast-track reticulated sewer systems for the area.
Resident Anne Crain said homeowners are struggling to manage with the rising costs associated with pump-outs.
“Because we do not have a connection to the sewer system, residents are left with no other option but to organise pump-out services,” she said.
“In May this year, our provider wrote and said they were increasing pump-out fees by 300 per cent.
“This news has been devastating and has affected residents’ mental health and wellbeing.
“Pump-out services can be unreliable and unhygienic; we know of residents who have organised the service and did not have it occur until after an overflow took place.
“This can be a highly traumatic and embarrassing experience, especially if you have family or friends staying.
“The big issue is we do not have any other choice other than pump out.
“We are classed as rural but can’t have enviro cycle as our blocks aren’t big enough.
“And we can’t have septic service because the ground is clay.”
Crain said she and other residents have been calling on Council to provide a sewer service for 35 years and cannot wait any longer.
Fellow resident Carrera Crowell has lived in the area since 2016.
“When my husband and I moved in it was just the two of us, but now we have two young children – a newborn and a two-and-a-half-year old,” she said.
“I can’t give them a bath every night because the septic tank fills up too quickly and overflows; instead we have to take them in the shower with us.
“On the recent King’s Birthday long weekend, the septic tank overflowed and we couldn’t get anyone out until the next Thursday.
“Sewerage flowed all over our yard and I had to take the children to my parents’ home at Bateau Bay to bathe them.
“I couldn’t let them outside at all; it was an absolute nightmare.
“There is a constant smell of sewerage and if we have guests staying over we have to anticipate the number of showers that will be taken and the extra washing that will need to be done and how that might affect the tank.
“Often when we have visitors we have to organise weekly pump-outs.
“It is always on your mind.”
Crowell said it was impossible to tell if the level of the tank was rising until it actually overflowed.
“We get it pumped out every month and have to try to guess if it will overflow sooner,” she said.
Crowell said the family’s pump-out bill had recently doubled; a financial strain while she is on maternity leave following the birth of her youngest child.
“I am concerned whenever the children are outside about what might be on the ground and with a growing family we may have to look at upgrading to a larger septic tank, which would be a huge expense,” she said.
“In an area like this in 2023 we shouldn’t have to worry about this.”
Federal Member for Robertson Gordon Reid has taken up the call on behalf of residents, saying it is unfair that some residents living in Killcare Heights have access to sewer systems, while others, living only down the road, do not.
Reid has written to Council Administrator Rik Hart asking for a timeline for when residents living in Killcare Heights can expect to access reticulated, sewer systems.
A Council spokesperson said there are currently a number of properties across the region which are not connected to the region’s drinking water and/or sewerage schemes, and the operation of those private systems remains the responsibility of the property owner.
“Council’s commitment is to undertake additional planning to determine a prioritised list of works and suitable funding arrangements for providing water and/or sewerage services to existing unconnected properties across the region,” the spokesperson said.
“This is a large and complex planning process which will involve a number of stakeholders, including the community and IPART as Council’s pricing regulator.
“This work is planned for completion by mid-2025.
“Considering that any subsequent sewer scheme design and construction would take a further three-five years to roll out (depending on priority), residents are encouraged to find the most cost effective and lawful provider to maintain their onsite sewer management systems.”
The spokesperson said Council had provided householders with information on ways to improve water efficiency within the home to reduce the frequency of pump outs while the current system is in place.
Terry Collins