News

Council adopts onsite wastewater management plan

May 2, 2025

City of Greater Shepparton Mayor Shane Sali. Photo by Megan Fisher

Greater Shepparton City Council has adopted a plan for managing the risks associated with onsite wastewater systems, such as septic tanks.

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The new Onsite Wastewater Management Plan 2025-2030 follows community consultation and sector engagement and supports council’s obligations under the Environment Protection Act 2017 to protect human health and the environment.

The consultation included an online survey, community meetings in Dookie and Toolamba, phone discussions with contractors and written submissions.

Feedback was received from 56 individuals and groups across the region. Respondents raised a range of challenges, including:

Constraints on town growth due to outdated or inadequate onsite wastewater system infrastructure.
Concerns over environmental impacts, particularly near waterways such as the Goulburn River.
The desire for access to reticulated sewerage in townships like Toolamba and Dookie.
Challenges around the cost of maintaining, upgrading or connecting systems to sewer networks.
Requests to include additional areas such as Arcadia, Congupna, Katandra West, Kialla West and Undera as priority locations for future action.

In response, council updated the final OWMP to reflect community input, including a summary of the wastewater profile for all locations.

Mayor Shane Sali said the adoption of the plan marked a significant step in improving wastewater management in both urban and rural areas across the municipality.

“This plan acknowledges the concerns raised by residents during consultation and outlines practical actions to support property owners, prioritise high-risk areas, and ultimately protect our waterways, land and community wellbeing,” he said.

For more information and to read the new plan, go to council’s website.