General information
This is general information, not advice about a particular property. Whether a block can join a CWMS, and what system suits it, is confirmed by Yorke Peninsula Council’s Environmental Health Officer; SA Health publishes the state rules for on-site systems.
A house in the Yorke Peninsula Council area either connects to a Community Wastewater Management System (CWMS) run by the council, or treats its wastewater on its own land, and the council asks owners to check with its Environmental Health Officer which applies. Where a home cannot connect to a sewer or a CWMS, SA Health requires an approved on-site system, made up of a treatment system and an area of land that takes the treated water.
The council’s eighteen schemes
The council’s July 2026 water plan says it owns and runs CWMS at 18 towns and locations, giving 2,783 properties a wastewater connection. The schemes are a mix of septic tank effluent drainage schemes, known as STEDS, and full sewers, and the council handles the collection, carriage and disposal of the effluent. Every scheme’s effluent is treated at one of the local plants, then reused or disposed of on land. Grouped by where that treated water ends up, the plan’s schemes look like this.
| Treated water goes to | Schemes |
|---|---|
| A golf course | Ardrossan, Maitland, Yorketown |
| The town oval | Port Victoria |
| A lucerne crop | Port Vincent, Stansbury |
| A council woodlot | Balgowan, Black Point, Bluff Beach, Chinamans Well, Foul Bay, Hardwicke Bay, Point Turton, Port Julia, Rogues Point, Sultana Point |
| Another town’s plant | Edithburgh (to the Sultana Point plant), Tiddy Widdy Beach (to the Ardrossan plant) |
At Foul Bay, Rogues Point and Sultana Point the plan records that houses pump into a common main. A town name in the table does not mean every house in or near it is connected: the council’s Environmental Health Officer confirms that for a particular site.
When the block has its own system
Where there is no local sewer or common effluent scheme, the council’s information sheet says most householders choose between a septic tank with soakage and an aerobic treatment system, and that the choice should be settled while the development is still being planned. The two ask very different things of a block and of an owner who is often away.
| What changes | Septic tank and soakage | Aerobic system |
|---|---|---|
| Ground | Suits moderate to well-drained soils; with moderate soakage, normally at least 90 m² of soakage area | An irrigation area of normally at least 200 m², more on poorly draining soils such as clay |
| Upkeep | Relatively low: the tank is desludged every 4 years | High: a qualified contractor services it every 3 months, and the reports go to the council |
| Running | On a sloping block, a pump may be needed to lift effluent up to the soakage | Chlorine dosing, a blower running around the clock, and an alarm you can see and hear |
| The yard | The bed can be lawn, but no cars or boats may drive or park on it; it sits 3 m from buildings and 2.5 m from boundaries and the tank | A surface-irrigated area is a signed, no-contact zone; a further area half its size must be private open space, so at least 300 m² is needed before any building |
The same sheet lists two other designs for hard sites: an evapo-transpiration bed for soils that drain poorly, and a Wisconsin mound where a thin layer of soil sits over rock. Both need qualified design and installation.
Holding tanks close to the sea
The council does not favour holding tanks, because pumping them out over and over is expensive. Its sheet accepts them only where both things are true: the property lies within 100 metres of the coast’s high water mark, so untreated effluent could reach the sea, and there is too little room for a system that would treat it well enough for that setting.
Approval, from design to inspection
An engineer reads the soil
The South Australian Public Health (Wastewater) Regulations 2013 require advice and a soil report from a consulting wastewater engineer, who designs the system around the site.
One application to the council
Form SF020 covers a new on-site system, a change to an existing one and a connection to a CWMS. If you are also lodging a development application through PlanSA, the council suggests sending the wastewater application at the same time.
An approved product
Under the wastewater regulations, an on-site system used in wastewater works must carry an SA Health product approval, and SA Health lists the approved tanks and treatment systems.
A licensed plumber
The council’s sheet says all the work must be done by a licensed plumber, who is often the applicant too.
Notice before work starts
The council must be told at least one full business day before work begins, so it can inspect. Skipping the notice may bring a penalty, and minor changes during installation need an “as installed” plan.
Looking after a septic tank
An SA Health fact sheet the council links to, last revised in 2013, sets out the habits that keep a tank and its trenches working.
- Have the solids pumped out, generally every four years.
- Fix leaking taps and cisterns, keep roof water away from the soakage area, and spread big washing loads over several days.
- Keep driveways, buildings and paving off the tank and trenches, and keep vehicles off them with a barrier if needed.
- Keep medicines and strong chemicals such as pesticides and paints out of the system.
- Fit mosquito-proof mesh to the vents and seal the access openings.
The fact sheet names soggy patches above the trenches, strong smells and blocked pipes as the first signs of a failing system, says these can be a health risk, and says to ask a registered plumber for the cause. If a trench needs replacing or the system needs changing, the council’s Environmental Health Officer is the one to consult. Planning to build near the water? Building near the coast follows the rest of the approvals.