Attachment J - Sewage Treatment Assessment

Figure 1: Vipassana Centre Site Layout
The Centre has a ten-year plan to expand the accommodation and facilities and is reviewing the suitability of
the existing STP and land application area as well as assessing the requirements for effluent treatment of the
proposed expansion.

Review of Existing STP and Land Application Area

The existing STP on Lot 6 RP848414 is an Aqua Nova (commercial) that services the current guest and staff
population of up to 70 (maximum 52 overnight guests and additional day users), with the recycled water
currently irrigated via above ground sprinklers to the irrigation area.
The current STP was issued a Compliance Certificate for regulated work (Plumbing and Drainage Act 2002
s.86(6)(a)) by the Noosa Council in September 2005 (Refer to Attachment A).
The historical application or site evaluation was conducted by Edwards & Associates Waste Water
Consultants in June 2005 and assessed the disposal area. The soil assessment included visual observations
and permeability testing and concluded that the disposal area consisted of Soil Category 4 and a suitable
design irrigation rate of 25mm per week in accordance with AS1547:2000 Table 4.2 A. The hydraulic loading
was calculated at 4,000L/day requiring a disposal area of 1120 m2.
Recent flow data obtained from the Centre indicates that total flows treated by the current system are between
72 and 114 litres per person per day. Based on 100% staff and guest occupancy (70 persons) this equates to
total daily flows between 5,040 L and 7,980 L. It is noted that this is an averaged flow and that the likelihood
of exceeding the peak design capacity of the system to our understanding has not yet occurred. The system



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