During the wet weather period of the year high volumes of extraneous flows reduces the capacity of the sewer to cope, resulting in sewage surcharging into the stormwater system causing an increase in the pollution and a risk to the environment and health of humans. One of the main contributors to the high extraneous flow is due to illegal connections at private properties of stormwater into the sewer system.

 

These projects seeks to highlight the serious repercussions that follow from the diversion of storm water into the City’s sewer system, which is known as storm water ingress.

 

Storm water negatively impacts the operations of the Wastewater Treatment Works by reducing the efficiency of the treatment processes. The system is designed to handle specific volumes of waste water and excessive inflows as a result of storm water in the sewer system can lead to effluent being released before it has been treated to the required level. This has a detrimental effect on the quality of the water bodies into which it is released.