Picton Wastewater Scheme

Investigating opportunities and improvements 

The Picton Water Resource Recovery Facility treats wastewater from local homes and businesses, producing high quality recycled water to irrigate crops at our Picton Farm. We're investigating alternative ways to manage the recycled water we produce, upgrade the Picton facility and expand the Picton Wastewater Scheme.


About this project

We provide wastewater services to Picton, Tahmoor, Thirlmere, Bargo and Buxton as part of the Picton Wastewater Scheme.

Wastewater from homes and businesses is treated at the Picton Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) to produce recycled water, which is used to irrigate crops at our Picton Farm.

As communities in the area have continued to grow, wastewater flows to the facility have increased, exceeding the capacity at our farm to reuse all the recycled water we produce. This impacts our ability to allow new wastewater connections to the Picton Wastewater Scheme for housing and growth.

We're working on solutions to manage the recycled water we produce at the Picton facility and expand the Picton Wastewater Scheme, to support growth and protect the environment. This includes opportunities to increase the use of recycled water in the community, to support a sustainable water supply for the future.

As part of our plan, we are working closely with the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and Wollondilly Shire Council to identify options that:

  • could service growth
  • are cost-effective
  • maintain local waterway health.

Although developing this plan is complex and challenging, we're committed to providing a reliable and sustainable facility that enables development for new homes and businesses in the area to connect to the wastewater system.

Picton Water Resource Recovery Facility

The Picton Wastewater Scheme includes pipelines, pumping stations and the Picton WRRF.

The Picton WRRF uses multiple treatment steps and processes to produce high quality tertiary treated recycled water. This includes screening, biological treatment, clarification, filtration and disinfection.

We currently use the recycled water for irrigating 119 hectares of land on our 175 hectare farm.

In limited circumstances, excess recycled water can be released into Stonequarry Creek. This is controlled through an Environment Protection Licence for the Picton WRRF, which is regulated by the EPA. The frequency and amount of recycled water that can be released must comply with the conditions set by the EPA.

We've been assessing and making improvements to the facility over a number of years. This includes:

  • investigating infiltration into our wastewater system during wet weather
  • upgrading the facility and increasing its capacity to be able to treat larger volumes of wastewater
  • assessing the feasibility of other potential opportunities to use recycled water and service properties in the Picton area
  • building pilot wetlands to minimise the nutrient levels in the recycled water and improve water quality
  • trialling a macroalgae project to reduce nitrogen and phosphorous levels in the recycled water and minimise impacts on local waterways
  • installing new equipment at the facility to further reduce impacts on the environment.

Work location


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Project updates

01 November 2024
Picton Wastewater Scheme connections

We provide wastewater services to Picton, Tahmoor, Thirlmere, Bargo and Buxton as part of the Picton Wastewater Scheme.

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01 December 2023
Thank you for your feedback

We'd like to thank the Picton community for taking the time to provide comments and complete our survey as part of our investigations to assess the potential of a recycled water scheme to service properties in the Picton area.

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01 August 2023
Investigating recycled water opportunities

We're investigating the potential of a recycled water scheme to service properties in the Picton area and are currently assessing the feasibility of the project.

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01 May 2023
Picton Wastewater Scheme connections

We provide wastewater services to Picton, Tahmoor, Thirlmere, Bargo and Buxton as part of the Picton Wastewater Scheme.

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01 July 2022
Decisions Report

Our Decisions Report for the Review of Environmental Factors for the proposed Picton Water Recycling Plant upgrade is now available.

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01 January 2021
Submissions closed for Review of Environmental Factors

We're in the process of reviewing and considering all submissions for the Review of Environmental Factors, and are currently preparing a Decisions Report.

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01 December 2020
Proposed Picton bypass road

We have been engaging with Transport for NSW (TfNSW) about the proposed Picton bypass road.

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01 November 2020
Book in to one of our online community sessions

Learn more about the Picton treatment, reuse and discharge project by attending one of our online community sessions.

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01 November 2020
Review of Environmental Factors report

The Review of Environmental Factors (REF) (4 MB) report is now available to download.

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01 October 2020
Picton Water Resource Recovery Facility upgrade

We're looking to upgrade the Picton WRRF.

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01 October 2020
Community and stakeholder engagement

Since late 2015, we have been working with the local community and interest groups to help determine a preferred solution for the Picton Water Recycling Plant.

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