agenda - attachments included · recommended on the motion of christopher green and russell rowley...

Utilities Committee | 16 July 2015 1

AGENDA

UTILITIES COMMITTEE TO BE HELD IN COUNCIL CHAMBERS ON

THURSDAY, 16 JULY 2015 AT 1:00 PM

1 Apologies

2 Confirmation of Minutes

3 Business Arising

4 Declarations of Interest

5 Items of Business

CL01 p6 Water Usage, Sales & Quality

CL02 p13 NSW Water Supply and Sewerage Performance Monitoring Report for 2013-14

CL03 p24 Griffith City Council Water Supply Allocation - Temporary Trade

CL04 p37 Resource Sharing Opportunity - Organic Waste Diversion

6 p39 Outstanding Action Report

7 General Business

8 Next Meeting

DISTRIBUTION LIST

Councillor Dino Zappacosta (Chair), Councillor Mike Neville, Councillor Paul Rossetto, Patricia Cox (Councillor - Alternate), Matthew Curley (Community Rep), Christopher Green (Community Rep), Patrick Pittavino (Community Rep), Russell Rowley (Stakeholder), Virginia Tropeano (Stakeholder)

Director Utilities, Graham Gordon; Waste Operations Manager, John Roser; Environmental, Health & Sustainability Coordinator, Fiona de Wit; Minute Secretary, Kathleen Calabria.

Quorum = 5

If you are unable to attend this meeting please notify the Minute Secretary prior to commencement of the meeting

by email or by telephoning Council on 69628100.


MINUTES

UTILITIES COMMITTEE HELD IN COUNCIL CHAMBERS ON

THURSDAY, 26 MARCH 2015 COMMENCING AT 1:00 PM

PRESENT

Councillor Dino Zappacosta (Chair), Councillor Pat Cox (alternate), Councillor Paul Rossetto, Chris Green (Community), Russell Rowley (Community) Virginia Tropeano (Community) Quorum = 5

STAFF

Director Utilities, Graham Gordon, Waste Operations Manager, John Roser and Minute Secretary, Kathleen Calabria

1 APOLOGIES

RECOMMENDED on the motion of Christopher Green and Russell Rowley that apologies be received from Councillor Mike Neville, Pat Pittavino, Matthew Curley and Fiona De Wit..

2 CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES

RECOMMENDED on the motion of Councillor Rossetto and Russell Rowley that the minutes of the previous meeting held on 18 December 2014, having first been circulated amongst members, be confirmed.

3 BUSINESS ARISING

3.1 CL10 10.1 Sulo Bins in Yenda Waste Operations Manager advised all bins have been replaced & relocated as requested by Yenda Progress Association (YPA). Councillor Rossetto enquired about replacing the one near Yenda Service Station. John Roser advised that when the new bin stands are ordered then Waste Operations Manager will contact YPA for a location. Waste Operations Manager replied to Kay Pellizzer's email with the same information.

4 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

There were no significant non-pecuniary interests declared.

Minutes of Utilities Committee 26 March 2015


5 ITEMS OF BUSINESS

CL05 GRIFFITH CITY COUNCIL WATER SUPPLY ALLOCATION - TEMPORARY TRADE Graham Gordon gave a brief history on the water allocation supply and advised that in the past Griffith City Council (GCC) has not used their full allocation and are keeping a good buffer when in need. Graham advised that the Office of Water have no objection to this trade but Murrumbidgee Irrigation must complete the application and present it to the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Board for approval. In previous years Council has only traded High Security Water as part of the allocation attached to the farms owned by Griffith City Council at Lake Wyangan. The Committee raised the below issues:

Our allocation is protected - if the water is not used and sold can the Government take this allocation from us;

We need to maintain enough water for our town requirements;

The water is to be used locally for MIA farmers;

Is the profit to be utilised for the community. Graham Gordon advised the money would not go into the water fund but would be put into the General Fund for certain community projects;

Will there be any restrictions on this trade?

Are there any Third Party impacts on this trade?

What is the timing of this trade. RECOMMENDED on the motion of Councillor Paul Rossetto and Virginia Tropeano that: (a) Council support in principle the annual temporary trade of part of Council's City water supply. (b) Griffith City Council write to Murrumbidgee Irrigation Ltd requesting them to make application, on behalf of Council, to the NSW Office of Water, to temporarily trade part of Council's annual water allocation. (c) Subject to MI concurrence to (b) above, the General Manager have delegated authority to commence temporary trade of part of Griffith City Council water supply to be traded only within the MIA area. (d) Subject to the Utilities Committee and Council adopting (a), (b) and (c) that a report regarding this matter be presented to the Utilities Committee before any action is taken.

6 WATER USAGE, SALES AND QUALITY

Graham Gordon advised that Raw Water figures will be included in the next report. RECOMMENDED on the motion of Councillors Paul Rossetto and Pat Cox that the Committee noted the information in the report.



7 YENDA POTABLE WATER QUALITY – FLUSHING OF MAINS

Graham Gordon advised that there are test points on Council's potable reticulation water mains to check the water quality. The mains are regularly flushed to drag fresh water through them and to keep a high water quality in our system. RECOMMENDED on the motion of Councillor Pat Cox and Virginia Tropeano that the Committee noted the information in the report.

8 GWRP – ODOUR UPDATE/ISSUES

Graham Gordon gave a brief history on how the treatment process works and advised it is working well with just a mild odour occasionally. We have now received our Biosolids classification at the Landfill and if there is a problem with odours at the Griffith Water Reclamation Plant the biosolids can be taken to the Landfill for disposal. Graham Gordon also advised that we are looking at other ways to move the biosolids. RECOMMENDED on the motion of Chris Green and Russell Rowley that the Committee note the information in the report.

9 COMBINED PENSIONERS & SUPERANNUANTS ASSOCIATION OF NSW INC.

The letter from the Combined Pensioners and Superannuants Association of NSW Inc. was presented to the Committee. John Roser advised that the cost of administrating such a scheme would be more than the current ‘Tip for Free’ weekends. John Roser explained it is more efficient to deal with waste as a bulk, especially when organising recycling pick-ups. John Roser will write to the Combined Pensioners and Superannuants Association of NSW Inc. to advise of the success of the 'Tip for Free' day and advise it will continue bi-annually, and to let them know that rotary clubs are also able to help them dispose of their waste. RECOMMENDED on the motion of Councillors Pat Cox and Paul Rossetto that the Committee endorses the current 'Tip for Free' weekend arrangement and how successful this has been. Waste Operations Manager to write to Combined Pensioners & Superannuants Association explaining the initiative of involving community groups to assist the elderly and disabled to dispose rubbish to landfill.

10 GENERAL BUSINESS

10.1 'Tip for Free' to be held on the weekend of the 21 and 22 March 2015. John Roser advised the 'Tip for Free' was held last weekend and the figures showed:

2015 Tharbogang 980 vehicles Yenda 240 vehicles Waste Operations Manager advised the Committee that Griffith East Rotary and Yenda Rotary provided collections and disposal services for the elderly and disabled. A total of 7 households booked this service in Griffith. This information was presented onto Griffith East Rotary. Yenda Rotary informed Waste Operations Manager that they were contacted by 4 households. Waste Operations Manager advised that operationally the weekend went well with no incidents to report. Waste Operations Manager will organise a media release thanking the service clubs and community for a successful weekend.



10.2 Pavement in front of Suman's Engineering Councillor Rossetto advised the pavement has not yet been fixed and that it has to be completed before the Centenary Celebrations next year. 10.3 Tharbogang Transfer Station Graham Gordon gave a brief report on the progress of the drawings. Previous drawings have not been of good quality. Waste Operations Manager advised the Committee that the GCC electrician, water and sewer officers and engineers have reviewed the drawings for accuracy.

Graham Gordon and John Roser will be reviewing the 4th set of drawings this week.

8 NEXT MEETING

The next meeting of the Utilities Committee is to be held on Thursday, 16 July 2015 at 1:00 pm.

There being no further business the meeting terminated at 2.42 pm.

Confirmed: ..........................................

CHAIRPERSON


Griffith City Council COMMITTEE REPORT CLAUSE CL01 TITLE Water Usage, Sales & Quality FROM Graham Gordon, Director Utilities TRIM REF 15/40956

SUMMARY

The report is to update the Committee on 2014/15 water usage to date; compare it with previous years and advise on recent water quality testing results.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee note the information in the report.

REPORT

A) Water Usage

Potable water production graph (a) shows a comparison to the end of June 2015 versus 3 previous years’ water production.

Potable Water Production at the end of June 2015 is:

July – June Usage

2012/13 7,292 ML

2013/14 6,665 ML

2014/15 6,607 ML

Raw Water Production at the end of June 2015 is:

July – June Usage

2014/15 629 ML

Attachment (b) shows a raw water graph depicting cumulative usage to the end of June 2015 for three Griffith City Council Raw Water Pump Stations supplying the Griffith Raw Water Reticulation Network.

Attachment (c) shows a raw water graph depicting cumulative usage to the end of June 2015 for Yenda Raw Water.

B) Water Quality

The attached table (d) shows Department of Health test data from Griffith potable water for the 12 month period from July 2014 to June 2015.

CL01 Water Usage, Sales & Quality


LINK TO STRATEGIC PLAN

This report has no relevance to the Council’s Strategic Plan.

ATTACHMENTS

(a) Total Potable Water Production 8

(b) Griffith Raw Water Usage 9

(c) Yenda Raw Water Usage 10

(d) Water Quality Table 11

CL01 Attachment (a) Total Potable Water Production


CL01 Attachment (b) Griffith Raw Water Usage


CL01 Attachment (c) Yenda Raw Water Usage


CL01 Attachment (d) Water Quality Table



Griffith City Council COMMITTEE REPORT CLAUSE CL02 TITLE NSW Water Supply and Sewerage Performance Monitoring Report for

2013-14 FROM Graham Gordon, Director Utilities TRIM REF 15/44285

SUMMARY

New South Wales Office of Water within the Primary Industries prepares an Annual Performance Monitoring Report for NSW water utilities which provides an overview of the current status and future water supply and sewerage needs of NSW.

RECOMMENDATION

The Utilities Committee note the information contained in this report.

REPORT

The annual NSW Water Supply and Sewerage Performance Monitoring Report present the key performance indicators for all NSW urban water utilities. This enables each water utility to monitor and improve its productivity and performance through benchmarking against similar utilities. The Report also highlights the overall state-wide performance of the NSW regional local water utilities and compares that performance with interstate utilities. The Report is generated from information retrieved after the final accounting period is closed at the end of each financial year; therefore the latest report is based on data from the 2013-14 financial year. The NSW Water Supply and Sewerage Performance Monitoring Report for 2013-14 has not been attached to this report as it is 120 pages long, but is available on Council’s web page using the following link: http://www.griffith.nsw.gov.au/cp_themes/default/page.asp?c=88 under the water or wastewater sections. The Performance Monitoring Report 2013-14 presents the key NSW performance indicators, discloses the overall State-wide performance of the regional NSW local water utilities and compares that performance with interstate utilities. The full suite of performance indicators is provided in the 2013-14 NSW Water Supply and Sewerage Benchmarking Report which contains benchmarking data to enable each Local Water Utility (LWU) to monitor trends in its performance indicators over the past six years and to benchmark its performance against that of similar LWUs. The NSW Benchmarking Report is also available on Council’s web page using the following link: http://www.griffith.nsw.gov.au/cp_themes/default/page.asp?c=88 under the water or wastewater sections. Griffith City Council has 8,900 connected properties for Water supply and 7,010 connected properties for Sewerage collection. Therefore Griffith City Council is placed in Group 2 which is Local Water Utilities with 3,001 to 10,000 properties.

http://www.griffith.nsw.gov.au/cp_themes/default/page.asp?c=88

http://www.griffith.nsw.gov.au/cp_themes/default/page.asp?c=88

CL02 NSW Water Supply and Sewerage Performance Monitoring Report for 2013-14


Overall Griffith City Council is performing well, achieving 100% implementation of the NSW Best Practice Management (BPM) requirements and has reported not public health incidents for water or sewerage. Attachments (a) and (b) to this report are extracts showing comparisons of all Local Water Utilities for the Water Supply and Sewerage residential charges, bills and cost recovery (Appendix E & F of the 2013-14 NSW Performance Monitoring Report). There are105 LWU’s in NSW which are placed in groups based on the number of properties they service. A comparison of all these LWU’s is collated in the Performance Report which makes it difficult to really see how Griffith City Council is compared to other Council’s similar or close to us. To provide the Utilities Committee a better understanding of how Griffith City Council compares to the neighbouring Council’s and Council’s similar to Griffith, I have provided a comparison of the Group 4 Council’s and the 9 other similar Council’s close to Griffith. There are 30 Council’s in the Office of Local Government’s Group 4 category for Local Councils. Attachment (c) shows the relevant charges for these 30 Councils as well as a comparison against the other 9 Council’s close or similar to Griffith City Council that are not categorised as a Group 4 Council (total of 39 Councils). A summary analysis of attachment (c) is as follows: Griffith City Council’s ranking for comparative water related fees & charges with number 1 being the most inexpensive: Ranked 1/39 – water consumption charge for <200kL Ranked 5/39 – 20mm water access fee Ranked 17/39 – 20mm water connection charge Ranked 17/39 – Section 64 charges for water Griffith City Council’s ranking for comparative sewerage related fees & charges with number 1 being the most inexpensive: Ranked 9/39 – Section 64 charges for sewerage Ranked 11/39 – Non-Residential access charge for sewerage Ranked 11/39 – Non-Residential sewerage treatment $/KL Ranked 21/39 – Residential charge for sewerage LINK TO STRATEGIC PLAN

This item links to Council’s Strategic Plan item E3 - To protect and enhance water quality.

ATTACHMENTS

(a) Appendix E - Water Supply residential charges, bills & cost revovery 15

(b) Appendix F - Sewerage residential charges, bills & cost recovery 18

(c) Summary of Various Council Water and Sewerage Charges 2014/15 21

CL02 Attachment (a) Appendix E - Water Supply residential charges, bills & cost revovery


CL02 Attachment (b) Appendix F - Sewerage residential charges, bills & cost recovery


CL02 Attachment (c) Summary of Various Council Water and Sewerage Charges 2014/15



Griffith City Council COMMITTEE REPORT CLAUSE CL03 TITLE Griffith City Council Water Supply Allocation - Temporary Trade FROM Graham Gordon, Director Utilities TRIM REF 15/44226

SUMMARY

This report provides further information in relation to the General Managers report to the Utilities Committee on 26 March 2015 seeking support for the temporary trade of Griffith City Council’s unused portion of town water allocation.

RECOMMENDATION

The Utilities Committee note the information contained in this report.

REPORT

As per recommendations of the Utilities Committee in response to the General Managers report presented on 26 March 2015 (see attachment a) this report provides further information on the progression of the request for the temporary trade of Griffith City Council’s town water. As proposed in the March 2015 General Managers report, Murrumbidgee Irrigation has written to the NSW Office of Water on 24 June 2015 (see attachment b) requesting a review of the application of the orders with a view to allow Councils to annually trade surplus water allocations. As an acknowledgement of Murrumbidgee Irrigation’s letter, Council’s General Manager has also written to the NSW Office of Water on 26 June 2015 (see attachment c) to request a date in which the Office of Water will complete its review. At the time of writing this report, no response has been received in relation to a time frame.


This item links to Council’s Strategic Plan item D6 - Develop policies that encourage sustainable growth.

ATTACHMENTS

(a) Temporary Trade Report - Utlilities Committee 26 March 2015 25

(b) MI Letter to NOW - Regarding Temporary Trade of Water - 24 June 2015 35

(c) GCC Temporary Trade of Water letter to NOW - 26 June 2015 36

CL03 Attachment (a) Temporary Trade Report - Utlilities Committee 26 March 2015


CL03 Attachment (b) MI Letter to NOW - Regarding Temporary Trade of Water - 24 June 2015


CL03 Attachment (c) GCC Temporary Trade of Water letter to NOW - 26 June 2015



Griffith City Council COMMITTEE REPORT CLAUSE CL04 TITLE Resource Sharing Opportunity - Organic Waste Diversion FROM John Roser, Waste Operations Manager TRIM REF 15/40946

SUMMARY

Waste management in NSW is a key priority of the State Government and there is a concerted effort to improve efficiency in this sector. One way to reduce the amount of waste collected is to divert greenwaste from the existing domestic general waste bins. This report looks at the potential to introduce a separate greenwaste collection service.

RECOMMENDATION

Council support a proposal to resource share with Griffith City and Leeton Shire to conduct a study into the viability of the provision of a domestic green waste service within the Shire.

REPORT

Background

Collection of garden organics has become well established in many areas of Australia. In NSW in 2010 42% of councils (64 in total) offered a kerbside organics (green waste) collection service to residents. It is probable this figure is now well over 50%. In many cases the domestic waste service comprises 3 bins being; general waste (red top bin), recycling (yellow top) and green waste (green). It is estimated that around 50% of the current general waste bin is green waste that could be diverted from landfill. The economics of this diversion will be impacted significantly if the Government introduces the mooted $10 per tonne levy on waste which is buried. The NSW government has set the Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy targets for 2021–22 and one of these targets is increasing waste diverted from landfill to 75%. To assist with achieving this target the EPA has made available a large amount of funding for complying programs. The Local Government Organics Collection Systems program is a 4-year $16.22 million grants program aimed at assisting councils to implement new or enhance existing household kerbside collection services for organic waste.

The Organics Infrastructure Fund will integrate all the components required (avoidance, management, treatment and recovery) for successful systems including:

community education and awareness local council collection systems

organics processing, including large and small scale infrastructure and equipment, and onsite processing options

markets for composted organics

regulation and compliance

CL04 Resource Sharing Opportunity - Organic Waste Diversion


A current opportunity exists for council to resource share with Griffith City and Leeton Shire to undertake a comprehensive study into the feasibility of such a scheme. It is anticipated that skilled consultants will be engaged to undertake the research. John Craig, RAMROC Riverina Waste Group coordinator, will manage the project and provide the bulk of the funding.

The general elements of the study will cover-

Understanding the current waste stream

Investigation of the collection options

Investigating the processing options

Understanding the risks

Understanding the costs and savings

With the benefit of this information council will be in a position to give full consideration to the viability of a separate green waste service.


This report has no relevance to the Council’s Strategic Plan.

ATTACHMENTS

Nil


Griffith City Council OUTSTANDING ACTION REPORT TITLE Outstanding Action Report TRIM REF 15/44475

RECOMMENDATION

The report be noted by Council.

ATTACHMENTS

(a) Outstanding Action Report 40

6 Attachment (a) Outstanding Action Report


ACTION REPORT

UTILITIES MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

Date of Meeting

Agenda Item Action Action Officer Date Comment

18/04/2013 Business Arising Councillor Zappacosta would like to see Mr Ron Pyke make a presentation regarding building dams.

Cr Zappacosta 25/4/2013

8/08/2013

Cr Zappacosta has Mr Pyke’s contact details & may like to discuss a date for the presentation

Cr Zappacosta advised that Mr Pyke is keen to come to Griffith after the elections in either Sep/Oct.

17/10/2013: Mrs Tropeano asked that the Action on the Dams be kept on the report and to continue with the project.

18/04/2013 CL06 Illegal dumping on Council land. Problem for the farmers with unwanted material being caught up in channels and getting caught in their machinery. Grants to be applied for when available – Waste Less, Recycle more initiative.

John Roser 25/4/2013

Completed

Council only controls dumping on public land not private. Rangers to be notified so possible legal action can be taken. Waste Operations Manager to keep an eye out for possible grants to combat illegal dumping in Griffith LGA.

17/10/2013: Illegal dumping is increasing on Macedone Road. A “No Illegal dumping” sign is to be erected.

26/3/15 Fiona De Wit to give an update.

8/8/2013 11.1 Mr Tull to report on possible options for improving the water

D Tull Currently funding incorporated in the 2015/16 10 Year Plan to be presented to Council

6 Attachment (a) Outstanding Action Report


pressure in Yenda at a future Committee meeting

Graham Gordon to confirm exact funding of proposal for 10yr plan.

17/10/2013 CL06 Mr Tull informed the Committee that a preliminary investigation will need to be completed prior to the next budget cycle - Yenda Potable Water Pressure.

D Tull Completed Site investigation completed. Insufficient room at YWTP site. Alternative locations in/near Mirrool Ave may be required. Placed in draft 10 Year Plan for works in 2015/16

17/10/2013 9.1 Fallen tree in drain near Bridge Road downstream from the syphons. Mr Tull to follow up on issue.

Graham Gordon CRM completed

8552/2015

10/4/15

Works Dept advised.

Tree has not yet been taken out & is the channel behind Farronato Bros. Graham Gordon to check.

Confirmed tree in channel. Letter sent to MI 10/4/15 to clean channel, awaiting response. Trim 15/22865.

13/2/14 CL07 Council pursue the issues of the poor quality – Blue Green Algae of the Lake Wyangan water with all relevant Authorities

Fiona de Wit On-going There are 6 water sampling sites. In Oct to August they are sampled fortnightly, May to Sept sampled monthly then sent to Sydney Water for analysis.

Fiona de Wit to update on progress.

16/10/2014 CL10 Request for bin to be placed opposite Yenda Service Station on Mirrool Avenue

J Roser Completed Dec 2014

On the ‘to do” list

26/3/15

CL09 Write to Combined Pensioner & Superannuants Association of NSW Inc.

John Roser Completed 21/4/15 Trim No. 15/24772

Write to Association advising outcome of meeting

agenda - attachments included · recommended on the motion of christopher green and russell rowley...

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