“Filthy”, “stinking” and “ancient”. They’re just some of the words being used to describe the sewage system in Lithgow, west of the Blue Mountains. Many residents are stuck dealing with rooms flooded with waste and overflowing toilets whenever there is heavy rain. The council says it’s working on the problem but will need tens of millions of dollars to bring the system into the 21st century.
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00:00 After 50 years as a plumber, Robert Ashworth thought his own bathroom would be protected
00:07 against overflowing toilets.
00:10 I have sewage coming up out of here and it just doesn't stop.
00:15 But these days Robert and his family have to barricade the bathroom door.
00:19 It's just a filthy, stinking mess.
00:22 When it happens, sometimes for days at a time, they use the caravan toilet,
00:27 or go to a relative's house for a shower.
00:30 Apart from the health risk and the inconvenience, it's third world stuff.
00:37 Lithgow City Council says the problem is the result of outdated terracotta pipes
00:42 mixed with challenging geography and extreme weather.
00:45 It will spend almost $8 million upgrading the sewage system this year.
00:50 Bringing it up to modern standards could cost as much as $70 million.
00:55 We will be speaking to NSW Government about an ability to fund those works.
01:00 So you've got your floor waste over here, your grey water, so that will come up.
01:04 While the community waits for those works, businesses are suffering.
01:08 Michael Wagner's store has been flooded with raw sewage multiple times in the past six years.
01:15 In 2022, rain brought flood water, toilet paper and waste through the property.
01:21 It cost the business about $750,000 in cleaning and damaged stock.
01:27 It has led us to actually question what we're doing and whether we should stay open.
01:33 For now, they just have to be prepared.
01:36 Once we've got over the initial panic, we've actually got a pallet of sandbags
01:39 and black plastic on the go, so it's just a case of getting that out,
01:44 getting all the entrances sandbagged as best we can.
01:48 A stopgap defence against a deep-seated problem.
01:52 [BLANK_AUDIO]