Onsite Wastewater Management Plan

Pyrenees Shire Council is required under Victorian legislation to develop and implement an Onsite Wastewater Management Plan to ensure the risks associated with domestic wastewater across the Shire are managed.

The EPA’s Order for Obligations of Managers of Land or Infrastructure (OMLI) requires Council’s to develop and implement an OWMP to assess the risks and identify strategies to manage these systems. There is also a requirement set out in the Planning permit applications in special water supply catchment areas guidelines (2024) for Council’s to protect open Special Water Supply Catchment Areas via an OWMP.

Council's 2015 Domestic Wastewater Management Plan was recently reviewed. The updated 2024-2028 Onsite Wastewater Management Plan (OWMP) was adopted by Council in July 2024. The new OWMP sets out a variety of strategies and actions to effectively manage the risk posed by domestic wastewater.

The OWMP covers the installation of new onsite wastewater systems and the management of existing systems across the Shire.  Much of the northern area of the Pyrenees Shire is within Declared Potable Water Catchment areas. These areas include in and/or around the townships of Evansford, Lexton, Waubra and Landsborough. It sets out monitoring and compliance inspection requirements in Special Water Supply Catchment Areas (SWSCA) and high risk unsewered townships. The frequency of inspections is based on the calculated risk level, ranging from very low risk to high risk, based distance from potable water or reservoir, soil type, and slope.

The OWMP also requires monitoring and compliance inspections to assess the health of existing systems within five of the unsewered townships in the Shire - Amphitheatre, Landsborough, Moonambel, Raglan and Redbank. 

A copy of the DWMP can be downloaded here:

    2024-2028 Onsite Wastewater Management Plan(PDF, 3MB)