Swmp

4.3      Lawful Point of Discharge

The lawful point of discharge is described in Section 3.9.1 of QUDM 2017. The ‘Lawful Point of
Discharge Test’ may be helpful in assessing whether a lawful point of discharge exists at a particular
location. As defined in QUDM 2017 the criteria for determining the lawful point of discharge are: -

         1.     Will the proposed development alter the site’s stormwater discharge characteristics in a

                manner that may substantially damage a third party property (see section 3.6).

                •     If not, then no further steps are required to obtain tenure for a lawful point of
                      discharge (assuming any previous circumstances and changes were lawful).
                •     If there is a reasonable risk of such damage, then consider issue (2) or (3).

         2.     Is the location of the discharge from the development site under the lawful control of the
                local government or other statutory authority from whom permission to discharge has
                been received?     This will include a park, watercourse, drainage or road reserve,
                stormwater registered drainage easement, or land held by local government (including
                freehold land).

                Note: The regulatory authority (in its capacity as land holder) is likely to require
                information about the potential impact of the site’s stormwater discharge characteristics
                on third party properties (particularly those downstream of the proposed discharge point)
                before it will consent to the discharge entering its land.

                •     If so, then no further steps are required to obtain tenure for a lawful point of
                      discharge.
                •     If not, then consider issue (3). A land owner or regulator may require that the
                      developer obtain an authority to discharge as described in (3) in order for the
                      stormwater to ultimately flow to a location described in (2).

         3.     An authority to discharge over affected properties will be necessary. In descending order
                of certainty, an authority may be in the form of:

                •     Dedication of a drainage reserve or park
                •     A registered easement for stormwater discharge/works
                •     Written discharge approval.

                Note: Some authorities may not accept a written approval from a current land owner
                because a subsequent purchaser will not be bound by the previous owner’s letter or
                contract (refer to Section 3.10).


SCG Consulting Engineers                     Page 7                             SCG Ref: 33132(SWMP).RevB