The township of Penshurst in the Southern Grampians Shire Council region of south-west Victoria is the most densely populated unsewered town within the municipality, and is situated on a sensitive groundwater setting near an extinct volcano. The town is located on the busy Great Southern Touring Route which connects Great Ocean Road with Dunkeld. Despite this strategic location, the town has experienced little tourism investment due to the lack of a sewer scheme for cost effective effluent treatment on often small lots. This is reflected in limited tourist accommodation and retail investment generally.
A Council audit of Penshurst’s septic systems found 93% (approximately 190 systems) were not performing satisfactorily and did not adhere to current public health and environmental standards. In addition, around 95% of owners did not maintain their systems, leading to a high risk of contamination of the groundwater and local water bodies. A natural spring of significance to the region’s Traditional Owners, the Eastern Maar, is also experiencing elevated nutrients which could risk triggering a future blue green algae outbreak.
Both Council and the community of Penshurst are keen for the township to grow and develop.
Penshurst’s current approach to domestic wastewater management limits residential and economic growth as the lot sizes within the town already provide insufficient land area to effectively treat and dispose of effluent via onsite systems. In addition, a reticulated sewerage system is also not suitable for the Penshurst area given the prohibitive costs of installation and distance from established systems in Hamilton.