The Bolivar wastewater treatment plant serves 80% of Adelaide’s population and is already operating at 15% above its design capacity due to greater than expected population growth.
The lack of additional treatment capacity limits residential growth in Adelaide’s northern suburbs and increases risks of degraded effluent quality discharges to the St Vincent Gulf marine environment. There are also increased risks of sewer overflows, potentially resulting in other adverse environmental outcomes.
Strategic Fit
Additional treatment capacity is considered a critical enabler of new housing development to meet National Housing Accord targets over the next five years.
Near and long term upgrades to the Bolivar Wastewater Treatment Plant will provide necessary capacity for wastewater treatment and increase climate change resilience through improved water management solutions. It will also improve operational efficiency and reduce energy intensive processes, supporting net zero and sustainability objectives. The initiative is aligned with the National Water Quality Management Strategy objective to enable effective water quality management for the delivery of fit-for-purpose water that supports community values.
Societal Impact
The submission did not quantify the cost of the problem, however, the South Australian Government states that providing additional treatment capacity would directly support 37,000 additional new homes across metropolitan Adelaide and accelerate housing development over the next 25 years, creating flow on effects for the broader economy.
There are also social, health and environmental impacts of increased risk of degraded effluent quality discharges to the St Vincent Gulf marine environment. Upgrading the treatment plan will reduce the likelihood of these impacts occurring.
The submission to Infrastructure Australia did not provide a quantitative assessment of embedded carbon dioxide, as required in the Guide to assessing greenhouse gas emissions.
Deliverability
The submission identifies some potential responses to resolve the identified problems, such as:
- Additional network infrastructure to increase capacity.
- Increase capacity of Bolivar wastewater treatment plant.
- Individual localised treatment plants (decentralised system).
- Operational interventions (e.g. modification of other treatment plant locations) to improve environmental performance.
Proponent to develop potential investment options (Stage 2 of Infrastructure Australia’s Assessment Framework), and complete business case development (Stage 3 of the Framework)
Infrastructure Australia recommends development of a business case that investigates the four identified solutions, as well as any other options, in further detail to determine the most appropriate response. The business case should be prepared to meet the requirements of the IA Assessment Framework.