Greywater Management on
South Australia’s Inland Waters

Legislation
The Environment Protection Authority’s Code of Practice for vessel and facility management (marine and inland waters) is linked to the Environment Protection (Water Quality) Policy 2003 – forming part of the Environment Protection Act 1993.
Non compliance with an Environment Protection Policy is an offence under the Act.
Legislation prohibiting the discharge of greywater from houseboats and other vessels travelling on inland waters in South Australia is being progressively introduced from 1st January, 2009.
For the management of greywater, vessel operators are required to observe the following compliance dates:

• 1st January, 2009 for all newly constructed vessels
• 1st January, 2010 for existing commercial vessels in survey and those that are permanently occupied.
• 1st January 2011 for all other vessels.

Options for greywater management include

• onboard retainment (installation of a retainment device for disposal into land-based waste management systems), or
• onboard treatment (installation of a grey water treatment system which can provide treatment to EPA standards acceptable for freshwater discharge)
• installation of an in-line filter or strainer (only applicable for specific cases where the above options cannot be structurally supported by the vessel) , or
• changes in behavioural management (only in cases where there are no means of employing structural controls on board the vessel).

NOTE: the last two options are not available to commercial or permanently occupied vessels and vessels which contain dishwashers and washing machines
For more information and to obtain copies of the South Australian Environment Protection Authority Code of Practice for vessel and facility management (marine and inland waters), please visit www.epa.sa.gov.au

Other related sites:

Greywater Treatment Systems
There are currently many manufacturers working on the development of greywater treatment systems for river craft, and BIASA expects that a range of products available to boat owners in time. BIASA will continue to support system manufacturers, through the providing advice and appropriate contacts to assist in their commercialisation.  

BIASA is also involved in the development of an Australian Standard for Greywater treatment systems for river craft, which is expected to be published in 2009. This standard will provide an industry accreditation system which will ensure the customer is purchasing a system that works. Once the standard becomes available, BIASA will only support greywater treatment systems which meet the requirements of the standard.

New_Australian_Standard_for_Greywater_Treatment.pdf  

Currently, as of December 2008, greywater system manufacturers include:

NEWTREAT PTY LTD - www.newtreat.com.au

AEROFLOAT - www.aerofloat.com.au

Newtreat has been recognised to meet EPA requirements and Aerofloat are in the final stages of product testing.

As more systems become available, we will post them on this site.