“The village doesn’t want a revised version of an STP, it doesn’t want one at all,” said a spokesperson for the Gundaroo Against Sewerage Plant (GASP) group ahead of council’s meeting on Wednesday September 26.

Councillors are expected to vote on whether to expand the existing Gundaroo Sewerage Scheme Options Study to explore a staged construction proposal, following community concerns.

An expansion of the options study is expected to cost the council $15,000, which would be funded through current budgets.

The council applied for a 50 percent subsidy from Infrastructure NSW to fund the STP, via the Safe and Secure Water Program, but doesn’t believe it will be successful because of a lack of community support.

The argument for and against the STP in Gundaroo has been unresolved for months. It began in 2016 when the council began looking into putting one in the village, via an options study, to support future land divisions as the village expands.

Currently, residents manage sewage and treated effluent with onsite treatment systems. Local landholders would be required to disconnect existing septic systems and connect to the proposed scheme if approved.

Concerns about the STP address costs to individuals to connect to the new system; the need to replace the existing systems working well; and the lack of water in Gundaroo to supply the sewerage system.

“Last year, 75 percent of respondents to council’s own survey said no to an STP,” said GASP chair Abram Hays. Despite this, Mr Hay said, the council still didn’t get it.