Central Coast Council has started a major upgrade of the Sewer Pump Station located in Woodland Parkway Reserve in Buff Point alongside the construction of new infrastructure to remove excess floating weed known as ‘wrack’.
 
Council Director Water and Sewer, Bileen Nel said it was exciting to combine an upgrade of important sewerage infrastructure with works to expand Council’s important wrack harvesting program.
 
“We are investing $527,000 to upgrade our Sewer Pump Station located in Buff Point to ensure its ongoing reliability and performance,” Ms Nel said.
 
“This is one of several Sewer Pump Station and Sewage Treatment Plant projects we are rolling out across the Central Coast.
 
“Over the next four years we are also investing $11million in a region-wide sewerage infrastructure upgrade program.
 
“Our Sewer Pump Station upgrade at Buff Point will be delivered without any interruption to regular sewerage services,” Ms Nel said.  
 
To maximise efficiencies and minimise inconvenience to the community, Council has combined this Sewer Pump Station upgrade with a project to construct new wrack collection infrastructure. 
 
The new wrack and algae infrastructure will improve safety and operational efficiencies. The construction of a ramp will assist with the extraction of wrack and a hardstand area will be used to dry the material prior to its removal from site.
 
The new wrack collection infrastructure represents a $310,000 investment and is funded by $150,000 from the Federal Government’s Improving Your Local Parks and Environment fund and $160,000 from Council.
 
Mayor Jane Smith said these two projects delivered on Council’s commitment to strengthen water security and provide essential infrastructure for the growing community. 
 
“Water is one of our greatest resources and we need to ensure we harness it correctly in the best interests of our community,” Mayor Smith said. 

“Upgrading this infrastructure will provide increased service and improve water quality and security for our growing community in the north of the Central Coast. 
 
“Tuggerah Lakes are one of our best natural assets and we want to keep it that way. 

“Seagrasses are important to the Tuggerah Lakes eco system but excess quantities of floating wrack washing up onshore can impact amenity for local residents.

“The new wrack harvesting infrastructure will collect the wrack and macro-algae from nearshore areas, delivering significant improvements to the amenity of Tuggerah Lakes.”
 
The wrack and algae collection program has increased collection volumes from around 4,000m3 to 10,000m3 per annum since 2013.
 
Collected wrack and algae is transported to drying pads and is then used on saltmarsh restoration projects or converted into a mulch product. 
 
Works on both projects started in February 2019 and will take approximately four months to complete.
 
Find out further information at yourvoiceourcoast.com/buff-point-infrastructure-upgrades.