AWTS Servicing FAQ — Central Coast

The conditions on your own approval to operate are the place to check, including who may carry out the service. A three-monthly check appears in a 2013 chapter of the former Wyong Shire Council's DCP, on effluent disposal in non-sewered areas, which says an AWTS approval to operate requires a maintenance check every three months by a Council-approved service provider. Central Coast DCP 2022's on-site sewage chapter does not repeat the service frequency. If you can't find your approval, ask Council for a copy before you sign up to a servicing arrangement.

The former Wyong Shire DCP 2013 chapter lists items each quarterly report must cover, including sludge and scum levels, lid and inspection-opening seals, tank condition and pump operation. That document comes from a former council, so treat the list as a guide and check your approval conditions for the rule. A thorough service also checks the irrigation area for pooling, odour or dieback in the surrounding plants. If wet patches or a smell show up over the field between visits, tell your servicing contractor then rather than waiting for the next service.

Each contractor sets their own price, per visit or as an annual contract, and it depends on things like your system's brand and how easy the tank and irrigation area are to reach. Council's approval to operate is a separate cost. The Australian Government's ABLIS business licence listing for Central Coast Council gives the 2026-27 fees for a domestic system as $80.30 to apply and $86.05 to renew. The application has to set out how the system will be operated, maintained and serviced, so have your servicing arrangement in place first.

A missed service lets small faults, like a failing blower or a blocked irrigation line, go unnoticed until they cost more to put right. If your approval conditions set a servicing schedule, missing a visit also puts you outside those conditions. Replacing a pump, blower or aerator is priced on the part and your system's brand, so have the make and model ready when you enquire. Council's approval application asks what will be done if the system breaks down, so it helps to know who you would call.

Start with your lot's risk rating. Under Central Coast DCP 2022, Council has given every unsewered lot a High, Medium or Low rating, based on site constraints including soil type and depth, slope, distance to surface water and groundwater, and whether the lot is in a drinking water catchment. If the work needs a wastewater management report, the rating sets how detailed it has to be. Council's Environmental Health Officer can tell you your rating. The replacement itself is priced on tank size, site access and how much of the irrigation area needs redoing.

When it comes to development, yes. Central Coast DCP 2022 requires an unsewered development inside a drinking water catchment to have its wastewater management report prepared to the High Risk standard. Its Water Catchment Areas chapter names the Mangrove Dam, Mooney Dam, Ourimbah Creek, Mardi Dam and Wyong Creek catchments, and notes that raw water from the Mangrove Catchment goes straight to the Somersby Water Treatment Plant with no treatment or storage in between. Your lot's risk rating from Council takes the catchment into account.