Black Rock Motor Resort puts the skids on odour and wastewater concerns

Black Rock Motor Resort managing director Tony Palmer is confident the development's proposal to adopt an on-site sewage system will not create any odour issues.

The $95 million motor enthusiast tourism venture is under construction on Rhondda Road at Wakefield on disused mining land.

Under the original approved development application through Lake Macquarie City Council, Black Rock was required to be connected to Hunter Water's reticulated sewerage network for the removal of all wastewater.

Further investigations by Thornton's GCA Engineering Solutions found the location and topography of Black Rock made it impossible to be connected to Hunter Water's sewer network.

A pump station solution was explored but deemed impractical.

It would require three separate points of connection and an additional 4.4 kilometres of rising sewer main, which would create "significant disturbance" to public and private property.

The modification report lodged with Lake Macquarie City Council stated that "connection to the Hunter Water sewer network was the highest community cost solution when compared to an alternative, on-site approach."

The modified DA proposes to remove the requirement to be connected to Hunter Water's sewerage network and build an on-site sewerage management system.

"There's not enough pressure in Hunter Water sewer lines, so they've basically said we can't connect to the sewer," Mr Palmer said.

"Pre-DA, that was always the intention. We'd love to be able to do it, but it's technically not possible.

"So we're doing on-site transpiration, which is pretty consistent with the rest of the area.

"Nobody else is on sewer out here, so it's not unusual to have on-site treatment transpiration plants."

The on-site sewerage system would see generated wastewater drained to a minimum of two 30-kilolitre septic tanks located at the northern end of the site.

Wastewater would be treated to a secondary standard with disinfectant.

The treated and disinfected effluent will be reused on-site for irrigation in a minimum area of 11,200 square metres.

An on-site wastewater management report prepared by Whitehead & Associates Environmental Consultants estimates that the peak wastewater generated across Black Rock's seven zones would be 127,160 litres per day.

Barr Planning stated in a report to the council that odours would not be a concern through regular maintenance and that there is a 550-metre buffer to neighbouring properties.

"The water that comes out of it once it's been treated is transpired, so odour isn't an issue," Mr Palmer said.

"It's how you move the effluent around the site.

"Where the tanks are located, primarily where you're creating the waste, it then needs to be pumped around the site into the treatment tanks.

"By the time it actually comes out, it's pretty clean."

Mr Palmer said there was an environmental benefit of reusing the treated effluent on-site.

"Whatever we can keep on site, we'll keep on site," he said.

"Anybody that has on-site sewerage treatment in their homes, the low-end septic system is probably what everybody thinks it is.

"This is more sophisticated than that. It's multiple stages of treatment so by the time it gets reused for irrigation, it's not going to cause us any troubles odour-wise."

Black Rock has also submitted two DA modifications to the council for minor changes to the layout of the Lakeside villas accommodation.

Modifications include minor changes to internal road configuration, balconies being added to all villas and the consolidation of two villas into one, after both properties were purchased by the same family.

Mr Palmer said heavy rain last winter delayed construction and it is expected that laying the tar for the world-class 5.25-kilometre driving circuit will begin later this year.

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