Bombala's $14m wastewater plant opens for town with a 'bright future'

Snowy Monaro Regional Council’s Rhys Crouch checks out the new wastewater treatment plant in Bombala with Eden-Monaro MP Kristy McBain. Photo: SMRC.

A new, state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant worth $14 million has been officially opened in Bombala.

A Snowy Monaro Regional Council spokesperson said the old Bombala Wastewater Treatment Plant had reached the end of its useful life and required replacement.

“It used outdated treatment technology, and the cost of maintenance and keeping the old plant up to modern environmental standards was unfeasible and unsustainable,” they said.

“Bombala is a town with a bright future, and the new plant provides the capacity to cater for both future population growth, as well as the significant number of visitors that pass through and stop in the town throughout the year.”

Member for Monaro Nichole Overall said the new plant was a significant upgrade.

“We’ve built a new bioreactor plant that harnesses the latest technology, ensuring the town has a first-class wastewater system that will also protect the environment,” she said.

“The effluent the plant produces is extremely high quality and will be maintained to the highest standard, which is crucial in a sensitive environmental area like Bombala.”

With 2400 people already living in the area, she also said the plant would be invaluable infrastructure as the community grew.

The official opening of the new treatment plant at Bombala. Photo: SMRC.

“The plant will also cater for Bombala’s tourism industry which is so important to the local economy,” Ms Overall said.

The council spokesperson said external data had shown a significant increase in visitor numbers to the Bombala region in recent years.

SMRC Mayor Narelle Davis said the project had been an important upgrade to a vital community facility, supporting local jobs throughout its three-and-a-half-year timeframe.

“Upgrading and renewal of the system in Bombala provides the infrastructure to manage wastewater and sewage into the future,” she said.

The plant was funded by $3.5 million from the NSW Government, $3.5 million from the Australian Government and $7 million from SMRC.

Council’s spokesperson said the new plant capped off a substantial period of replacements and upgrades to wastewater infrastructure in Bombala, with all the lines replaced and mains and other infrastructure upgraded.