The Otway Water Supply System
We want to provide high quality, safe drinking water for our community. That’s why it’s essential to manage and protect our catchments.
Catchments are areas of land where rainfall collects in rivers and streams or seeps into the soil to become groundwater. If your property drains to a point where raw water is drawn for drinking water purposes, you live in a drinking water catchment.
Under the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994, Declared Special Areas (Water Supply Catchments) recognise designated catchments used for water supply purposes.
Our Otway Water Supply System is a Declared Special Area.
Planning permit applications
It’s vital that we protect our drinking water supplies from the impacts of onsite wastewater treatment systems (e.g. septic tanks). That’s why the Colac Otway Shire refers any planning permit applications for new land use or development in the Otway water supply area to us for comment.
We’ll assess the potential impact on the catchment and provide advice. We have specific requirements for the location, specifications and maintenance of onsite wastewater systems.
You need to include the following documents with your application to council:
- A detailed site plan showing the proposed location of dwellings, outbuildings, dams, waterways, driveways, stormwater drainage, effluent disposal fields and wastewater treatment systems.
- A land capability assessment by a geotechnical engineer, and a wastewater management plan, including a water and nutrient balance.
- Information about any existing wastewater treatment systems in place.
- Information about the current land use and development and any proposed changes.
Your proposal must meet the following criteria:
- The irrigation/leaching field must be at least 100 metres from any water supply, waterway or water offtake point.
- All wastewater systems must be correctly installed and be well maintained.
- Properties must be no less than 4,000 square metres.
- Properties between 4,000 and 10,000 square metres are all assessed for their suitability. Properties below 4,000 square metres are too constrained to handle domestic wastewater.
Other factors we’ll take into account:
- Suitable slope
- Minimal presence of erosion
- The existence of vegetation
- Rainfall and other climatic conditions that affect the land.
Site constraints relating to density and land zoning may also have an impact.
We refer to the following publications when considering a planning permit for a development in a declared area:
- Code of Practice for Onsite Wastewater Management (EPA publication 891.4, or as amended).
- Colac Otway Shire Council’s Domestic Wastewater Management Plan.
- AS/NZS 1547: Onsite Domestic Wastewater Management.
Information about onsite wastewater and a list of approved/certified systems is available from the Environment Protection Authority.
Other information is available from:
Catchment map
Planning on using herbicide or pesticide in our catchments?
