How clean (and green) is your rural residential block?
Rural living and the environment
Residential developments in rural areas are becoming an increasingly popular alternative to urban living in NSW.
Rural residential living offers the benefits of a rural lifestyle, while still maintaining access to employment, and social and cultural activities. There are, however, environmental impacts from these developments which must be carefully managed.
How clean (and green) is your rural residential block? Read on...
To maintain the healthy environment which people are seeking in choosing a rural lifestyle, it is important that sewage and household wastes are properly managed, waterways are protected, roads and other disturbed areas are well constructed and maintained, and the diversity of habitat provided by any natural areas is protected.
Sewage waste
Sewage, if not properly treated and managed, will cause nutrient and bacterial pollution of creeks, dams and groundwater. This presents human health threats (from swimming, drinking, or other water contact) and damages aquatic habitats. For example, nutrient pollution can contribute to algal blooms, oxygen depletion of water and fish kills.
- Choose the right treatment system. The best system for your block will depend on soil type, slope, climate and closeness to creeks, rivers and groundwater systems. Common systems include septic tanks with absorption or transpiration beds, two-stage aerobic treatment plants with irrigation or absorption/transpiration of effluent, and composting toilets.
- Maintain your treatment system. All treatment systems require regular maintenance to operate efficiently.
- Don't overload your treatment system. If operated beyond capacity, a treatment system won't treat sewage to an adequate standard.
- Manage your disposal areas sustainably. Transpiration beds and irrigation areas must be of an adequate size and soil quality to prevent saturation and run-off at all times of the year. Nutrients should be harvested from areas by regular mowing or other means.
Household wastes
Household garbage buried on-site can pollute creeks, dams and groundwater with nutrients and toxic chemicals (residues from household cleaning agents, detergents, oils, garden chemicals and pesticides):
- never place or bury garbage in gullies or waterways
- compost all your organic wastes
- recycle your paper, glass, metals and plastics, where possible
- dispose of all other wastes at properly managed landfills.
Clean waters
While many activities on rural blocks have the potential to pollute, environmental harm can be kept to a minimum by managing activities wisely, and by protecting sensitive areas such as creeks and rivers from residual pollution.
- Maintain healthy vegetation near your streams and rivers to filter run-off and ensure stable banks.
- Manage your water areas to prevent degradation from concentrated stock access by fencing sensitive areas and providing stabilised stock access points or by watering stock at points away from creeks and rivers.
- Site your dams below disturbed or high activity areas to capture nutrients and sediment before they enter natural waterways.
- Design your dams to filter pollutants and have shallow sediment traps on the upstream end of dams to settle out sediment. Encourage aquatic plants which will filter water and utilise nutrients. They will also provide a more diverse aquatic habitat in the dam.
- Manage your stock to prevent overgrazing and subsequent erosion.
Roads
The increase in number of both private and public unsealed roads resulting from rural residential development affects water quality. Unsealed roads can cause as much water pollution as active gullies if not well constructed and maintained:
- plan and design roads to minimise disturbance and the potential for erosion
- maintain your access roads and tracks in a stable condition.
Habitats
Rural residential developments are often sited in, or contain, areas of high natural value (native vegetation, creeks and rivers and wetland areas). However, the development of these sites often threatens the very values that attract people to them.
- Plan the development and use of your site to minimise disturbance of native vegetation, fauna habitat, permanent and non-permanent waterways (including wetlands), and other areas of natural value.
- Be aware of the harm that uncontrolled domestic animals (cats and dogs) will cause to native flora and fauna.
The above ideas provide the means by which you can protect the environment of the area in which you live. For more detailed information about any of the issues in this brochure, professional advice can be sought from relevant state government departments or your local council.
More information
For more information and other DECC publications contact Environment Line on 131 555 (local call cost) or by e-mail.