Barwon Water extends its thanks to the Forrest and District Community Group for inviting us to their latest community meeting. Representatives Rhys Bennett and Minnie Feakes attended, presented to the broader community, and answered numerous questions.

For community members unable to attend the meeting on Monday, June 17, 2024, here is a brief summary of the Forrest wastewater project:

We are continuing to develop a concept design for a centralised wastewater management solution for Forrest to eliminate the public health and environmental risks associated with inadequately performing septic systems, remove the maintenance burden of existing onsite systems and improves Forrest’s amenity, creating better experiences for residents and visitors.

Identifying potential sites for a water recycling facility near the township has been challenging due to limited suitable land. However, progress has been made, and we are focusing on sites in the Gerangamete area where more suitable land is available.

Barwon Water remains committed to delivering this project in line with the community's vision and supporting the prosperity of the town. The project is expected to commence before 2028, subject to a viable business case and ongoing community support.

The draft business case assumes that Barwon Water will fund the full cost of the scheme, including sewer pump units at properties, reticulated sewer infrastructure (such as pipelines), and a new water recycling facility.

Forrest property owners would be responsible for the cost of on-property connections, which involves connecting the property’s plumbing to a new Barwon Water connection point within their property, and electricity usage costs for the sewer pumping unit located on their property.

Once connected to the sewerage system, each residential property would commence being charged Barwon Water’s standard annual residential sewerage tariff. This tariff is common to all of our sewerage customers and is currently $635.76 per annum, as determined by the Essential Services Commission.

We will continue to update the community through our regular advert in the Forrest Post, Forrest wastewater web page and community meetings. For more information, please visit: www.yoursay.barwonwater.vic.gov.au/forrest-hub-forrest-wastewater.