Grange Planning Brain

title: Greater Western Water Servicing Coordination for Growth and Development Areas council: macedon-ranges state: vic category: growth-area classification: MAJOR status: in-progress last_compiled: 2026-05-31 source_docs:

  • 25-march-2026-scheduled-meeting-agenda.pdf
  • Greater Western Water desalinated water outlook May 2026
  • romsey-structure-plan-submissions-epa-greater-western-water.pdf
  • Greater Western Water land development page
  • GWW Land Development Manual V9 December 2025.pdf
  • New Customer Contributions Guide 2025-26.pdf
  • GWW Developer Sewage Eduction Policy.pdf
  • Working together for Macedon Ranges water future
  • Macedon Ranges water use and catchment areas
  • Gisborne sewer upgrade works

Greater Western Water Servicing Coordination for Growth and Development Areas

Greater Western Water is a binding infrastructure authority for growth in most of southern and eastern Macedon Ranges, because residential and employment land cannot translate into serviced lots unless water, sewerage, recycled water where available, easements, development deeds, contributions and statement-of-compliance consent align. (Source: Macedon Ranges water use and catchment areas) The available sources show active coordination but not a complete published Macedon Ranges servicing strategy, so this page analyses the operating mechanisms, known local capacity issues, current works and evidence gaps rather than presenting a parcel-by-parcel servicing schedule. (Source: Greater Western Water land development page)

Background

Council identifies that it does not manage water supply or waterways, and that water supply is the responsibility of local water corporations while catchment functions sit with catchment management authorities. (Source: Macedon Ranges water use and catchment areas) Within Macedon Ranges, Greater Western Water services Lancefield, Romsey, Riddells Creek, Gisborne, Clarkefield, Macedon, Bullengarook and Woodend, while Coliban Water services several northern areas including Tylden, Kyneton and Malmsbury. (Source: Macedon Ranges water use and catchment areas) This makes GWW the relevant servicing body for several settlement and growth fronts, including Romsey, Lancefield, Riddells Creek, Gisborne, Macedon and Woodend. (Source: Macedon Ranges water use and catchment areas)

The March 2026 Council agenda records a 3 March 2026 councillor briefing attended by Cameron Fitzgerald, Suzanne Knight and Andrew Hickey from Greater Western Water, with a listed item of Presentation by Greater Western Water. (Source: 25-march-2026-scheduled-meeting-agenda.pdf, p.13) The same agenda links this briefing context to DPO24 follow-up, the 2026-27 budget workshop, Swinburne Avenue drainage and other business, which indicates that water authority coordination was being treated as a live governance matter rather than only as a subdivision referral issue. (Source: 25-march-2026-scheduled-meeting-agenda.pdf, p.13)

Analysis

Servicing Authority Role and Spatial Coverage

The key planning mechanism is simple: Council can plan settlement boundaries and assess permits, but GWW controls connection consent to its water, recycled water and sewer assets under its development process. (Source: GWW Land Development Manual V9 December 2025.pdf, p.7) Under GWW’s manual, connection and payment requirements are set out in an Offer and Development Deed, and GWW consent is required to connect to water, recycled water and sewer assets. (Source: GWW Land Development Manual V9 December 2025.pdf, p.7)

For a child, the system works like building a new street of houses behind an existing street: Council may say the street is in the right place, but GWW decides whether the pipes are big enough, where the new pipes must go, who pays, and whether the new lots can be signed off. (Source: GWW Land Development Manual V9 December 2025.pdf, pp.9-15) The practical consequence is that an approved growth area can still be delayed if it is not fronted by serviceable assets, if water or sewer availability is unclear on GWW Network Servicing Plans, or if the required works need a Development Works Application and deed before lots can be serviced. (Source: GWW Land Development Manual V9 December 2025.pdf, pp.9-15)

GWW’s land development page confirms that its public toolset includes the Land Development Manual, New Customer Contributions Guide, Developer Sewage Eduction Policy, network servicing plans, sewer maps for Macedon Ranges west and east, and water maps for Macedon Ranges west and east. (Source: Greater Western Water land development page) The extracted corpus includes the manual, contributions guide and eduction policy, but it does not include the underlying Macedon Ranges sewer and water map PDFs or network servicing plan overview PDFs. (Source: Greater Western Water land development page)

Development Pipeline Controls

The first gate is Servicing Requirements Advice, usually requested at concept or design stage or when a parcel is being assessed for sale, to identify whether upgrades or extensions to sewer, water, fire-flow and recycled water services are required and to estimate associated costs. (Source: GWW Land Development Manual V9 December 2025.pdf, p.9) GWW distinguishes land-only subdivision or greenfield proposals from built-form or brownfield proposals, with greenfield triggers including new estates, undeveloped land, limited or no existing water or sewer infrastructure, unclear servicing on Network Servicing Plans, and situations where recycled water is not practical and integrated water servicing is needed. (Source: GWW Land Development Manual V9 December 2025.pdf, pp.9-10)

This matters for growth areas because SRA advice is not a final servicing approval. (Source: GWW Land Development Manual V9 December 2025.pdf, p.10) GWW states that SRA advice may change without notice and that binding commitments are not made until a Development Deed is executed, a plumbing application is executed, designs are approved and required applications are completed. (Source: GWW Land Development Manual V9 December 2025.pdf, p.10) The effect is that strategic planning based only on early servicing advice carries timing risk unless the relevant network works have moved into deeded, designed and funded delivery. (Source: GWW Land Development Manual V9 December 2025.pdf, p.10)

At planning permit and certification stages, GWW may consent, object, or require specified alterations to a plan of subdivision. (Source: GWW Land Development Manual V9 December 2025.pdf, pp.10-11) Those alterations commonly relate to easements or land being set aside on the plan of subdivision for existing or future GWW assets. (Source: GWW Land Development Manual V9 December 2025.pdf, p.11) Because asset locations may not be known at certification stage, GWW reserves the ability to require additional easements or land set aside through the Development Deed. (Source: GWW Land Development Manual V9 December 2025.pdf, p.11)

Costs, Contributions and Infrastructure Timing

The contribution mechanism is not a general council development contribution; it is a water-sector charge under the Water Act and Essential Services Commission price framework. (Source: New Customer Contributions Guide 2025-26.pdf, p.3) GWW may levy New Customer Contributions when a development connects to water, sewerage or recycled water networks, or when new capital works are required. (Source: New Customer Contributions Guide 2025-26.pdf, p.3) For the former Western Water area, which is the relevant legacy area for Macedon Ranges in the GWW materials, standardised residential charges are 3,849 per lot for western greenfield water, 3,849 per lot for western greenfield sewer, 1,662.45 per lot for western infill water and 1,662.45 per lot for western infill sewer. (Source: New Customer Contributions Guide 2025-26.pdf, p.5)

The financial architecture separates reticulation assets from shared assets. (Source: GWW Land Development Manual V9 December 2025.pdf, p.28) A developer must provide and fund reticulation assets for an estate, while GWW reimburses works defined as shared assets. (Source: GWW Land Development Manual V9 December 2025.pdf, p.28) Reticulation assets are generally water or recycled water mains of 150 mm or less and gravity sewerage mains of 225 mm or less, while shared assets include larger water or recycled water mains greater than 150 mm and gravity sewerage mains greater than 225 mm if they also service other developments or improve network capacity at GWW’s discretion. (Source: GWW Land Development Manual V9 December 2025.pdf, pp.58-59)

This distinction affects staging. (Source: GWW Land Development Manual V9 December 2025.pdf, pp.28-30) GWW Network Servicing Plans outline future water, recycled water and sewerage infrastructure and timing, and the plans show large infrastructure that GWW is required to reimburse. (Source: GWW Land Development Manual V9 December 2025.pdf, p.28) If shared infrastructure is built earlier than the timing in those plans, GWW may apply Incremental Financing Costs, which rise from 3.64 percent of capital cost for one year brought forward to 67.15 percent for 30 years brought forward. (Source: GWW Land Development Manual V9 December 2025.pdf, pp.28-30) Where a shared asset is not shown on a Network Servicing Plan, the default brought-forward period is 30 years. (Source: GWW Land Development Manual V9 December 2025.pdf, p.29)

Sewer Outfall Risk and Temporary Servicing

Sewer is the harder constraint in the available documents. (Source: GWW Developer Sewage Eduction Policy.pdf, p.1) GWW’s eduction policy says development has traditionally progressed upstream from established treatment plants and trunk infrastructure, but GWW is seeing more fast-paced development where that logical sequence is less common because of topography, greenfield lot size and servicing arrangements that may require outfalls to cross ridges or be directed upstream to regional treatment plants. (Source: GWW Developer Sewage Eduction Policy.pdf, p.1)

GWW’s preferred position is that the permanent sewerage outfall, being either a branch sewer or a permanent pump station and rising main, should be completed before GWW consents to Statement of Compliance for an estate stage. (Source: GWW Developer Sewage Eduction Policy.pdf, p.2) If permanent outfall delivery is delayed, GWW states that a temporary pump station and rising main is preferable to sewage eduction because eduction relies on monitoring and procedural controls and is therefore a higher-risk administrative control. (Source: GWW Developer Sewage Eduction Policy.pdf, p.2)

The limited early-release pathway is tightly bounded. (Source: GWW Developer Sewage Eduction Policy.pdf, p.2) GWW may consider a short-term arrangement of up to 12 months for fewer than 150 allotments where works have commenced but the sewerage outfall is not yet completed. (Source: GWW Developer Sewage Eduction Policy.pdf, p.2) The arrangement requires a Deferred Works Deed, bank-guarantee-style securities, an accredited eduction contractor, an Eduction Management Plan and an Eduction Capacity Spreadsheet. (Source: GWW Developer Sewage Eduction Policy.pdf, pp.2-3) The manual adds that Deferred Works Security is generally 150 percent of the estimated outstanding deferred works value, and eduction security is generally based on an estimated $2,500 per week eduction cost over the expected completion period. (Source: GWW Land Development Manual V9 December 2025.pdf, p.27)

For planning purposes, this means eduction is not a growth-area servicing strategy. (Source: GWW Developer Sewage Eduction Policy.pdf, pp.2-5) It is a short-term exception for a limited number of lots after works have already commenced, with escalating controls if duration increases, additional stages are requested, or safety, amenity or environmental risks are identified. (Source: GWW Developer Sewage Eduction Policy.pdf, pp.4-5)

Romsey: Recycled Water Plant Interface and Capacity

Romsey has the clearest place-specific evidence in the source set. (Source: romsey-structure-plan-submissions-epa-greater-western-water.pdf, pp.5-10) GWW operates the Romsey Recycled Water Plant on Portingales Lane, approximately 4 km from the Romsey town centre, and the plant has operated as a community asset since the 1970s. (Source: romsey-structure-plan-submissions-epa-greater-western-water.pdf, p.6) GWW stated in September 2023 that population growth meant the Romsey Recycled Water Plant was close to capacity and that GWW was investing in upgrade works to increase treatment and storage capacity and better manage recycled water. (Source: romsey-structure-plan-submissions-epa-greater-western-water.pdf, p.8)

The Romsey issue is not only hydraulic capacity; it is also land-use compatibility. (Source: romsey-structure-plan-submissions-epa-greater-western-water.pdf, pp.2-10) EPA recorded that the Draft Romsey Structure Plan referred to a 1000 m separation distance for the existing Romsey wastewater treatment plant, but EPA said the separation distance should be determined in consultation with EPA and that this work had not been finalised. (Source: romsey-structure-plan-submissions-epa-greater-western-water.pdf, p.2) GWW stated that, based on current population, the required separation distance was broadly 700 m, but the buffer increases as population increases. (Source: romsey-structure-plan-submissions-epa-greater-western-water.pdf, p.8)

The mechanism is direct: if the final odour analysis and Buffer Area Overlay cover land proposed for urban growth, then sensitive uses such as housing, schools and active open space may need to move or accept stronger land-use controls. (Source: romsey-structure-plan-submissions-epa-greater-western-water.pdf, pp.9-10) GWW warned that progressing the Structure Plan without final buffer information creates a risk that eastern and southern township growth opportunities may be curtailed by the future BAO. (Source: romsey-structure-plan-submissions-epa-greater-western-water.pdf, p.9) GWW also objected to the proposed secondary school active open space and Romsey Employment Precinct encroaching into the existing buffer because staff, students and workers may be exposed to odour and may create pressure on the treatment plant’s ongoing operation. (Source: romsey-structure-plan-submissions-epa-greater-western-water.pdf, pp.9-10)

Gisborne: Known Sewer Augmentation and Local Development Pressure

The clearest current capital works item is Gisborne. (Source: Gisborne sewer upgrade works) Council’s project page states that GWW is upgrading the Gisborne sewer pump station at Rotary Park by constructing a new high-capacity storage tank. (Source: Gisborne sewer upgrade works) The stated outcomes are reduced overflow risk, doubled station capacity to support Gisborne’s growing population, and improved pump-station performance and efficiency. (Source: Gisborne sewer upgrade works) Works were to mobilise from April 2025, operate generally from 7 am to 5 pm Monday to Friday, and be completed by April 2026. (Source: Gisborne sewer upgrade works)

This project aligns with Council’s broader growth context for Gisborne. (Source: 25-march-2026-scheduled-meeting-agenda.pdf, p.170) The March 2026 agenda records that Council was seeking a consultant for the Gisborne Futures Structure Plan Business Park work, including finalising a proposal to expand the Gisborne Business Park to the south and east through a planning scheme amendment. (Source: 25-march-2026-scheduled-meeting-agenda.pdf, p.170) The same agenda records local concerns around Swinburne Avenue and Cherry Lane in Gisborne, where development activity and recent flash flooding had caused disruption. (Source: 25-march-2026-scheduled-meeting-agenda.pdf, p.9)

The available evidence does not prove that the Rotary Park sewer tank directly enables the Gisborne Business Park expansion, but it does show that sewer storage capacity is being doubled in Gisborne while Council is preparing further structure-plan implementation work in the same settlement. (Source: Gisborne sewer upgrade works; Source: 25-march-2026-scheduled-meeting-agenda.pdf, p.170) The missing link is the actual sewer catchment map, pump-station catchment boundary and GWW Network Servicing Plan for Gisborne. (Source: Greater Western Water land development page)

Water Security and Climate Demand

Water availability is not only a subdivision asset question; it is also a regional supply-demand question. (Source: Greater Western Water desalinated water outlook May 2026) On 7 April 2026, the Victorian Government confirmed a 150 billion litre desalinated water order for 2026-27, reflecting hot and dry weather, lower rainfall, declining inflows and population growth. (Source: Greater Western Water desalinated water outlook May 2026) At the end of March 2026, Melbourne storages were 67.8 percent full, down 10.7 percentage points from the same time in 2025, and water restrictions were rated possible for summer 2026-27 in the March 2026 quarterly Water Outlook. (Source: Greater Western Water desalinated water outlook May 2026)

For Macedon Ranges, GWW reported in October 2025 that it had engaged with the community in 2022 and 2023 on water use, dry-period planning and management of extra water during wet periods. (Source: Working together for Macedon Ranges water future) GWW also reported projects to improve regional water security, including upgrading the Romsey Water Filtration Plant and installing a new pipeline in Lancefield. (Source: Working together for Macedon Ranges water future) These are important place-specific supply actions, but the source does not provide design capacity, timing, catchment served or growth-yield implications. (Source: Working together for Macedon Ranges water future)

Current Status

The initiative is best classified as in-progress because Council recorded a Greater Western Water briefing on 3 March 2026, GWW had live Macedon Ranges water planning engagement in late 2025, Gisborne sewer pump-station storage works were scheduled through April 2026, and Romsey servicing and buffer issues were still subject to further technical work. (Source: 25-march-2026-scheduled-meeting-agenda.pdf, p.13; Source: Working together for Macedon Ranges water future; Source: Gisborne sewer upgrade works; Source: romsey-structure-plan-submissions-epa-greater-western-water.pdf, pp.9-10)

The operative status is not a single statutory amendment stage. (Source: Greater Western Water land development page) It is an infrastructure coordination program made up of authority briefings, GWW network servicing controls, place-specific capital works, Romsey recycled-water-plant buffer resolution, contribution settings and growth-area subdivision conditions. (Source: Greater Western Water land development page; Source: GWW Land Development Manual V9 December 2025.pdf, pp.9-30)

Dependencies

  • Blocks: Growth-area subdivision can be blocked where lots lack water or sewer frontage, where existing assets cannot cater for demand, where easements or land set-asides are required, or where GWW does not consent to certification or Statement of Compliance. (Source: GWW Land Development Manual V9 December 2025.pdf, pp.10-15)
  • Blocked by: Romsey’s eastern and southern growth directions may be constrained until the RRWP odour analysis and BAO boundary are finalised with EPA input. (Source: romsey-structure-plan-submissions-epa-greater-western-water.pdf, pp.2-10)
  • Informed by: GWW’s Land Development Manual, NCC Guide, Developer Sewage Eduction Policy, network servicing plans, sewer maps and water maps form the core technical-control framework. (Source: Greater Western Water land development page)
  • Implements: The coordination gives practical effect to integrated water management, subdivision servicing, land-use compatibility and infrastructure protection objectives in planning and water-sector processes. (Source: romsey-structure-plan-submissions-epa-greater-western-water.pdf, pp.7-8; Source: GWW Land Development Manual V9 December 2025.pdf, pp.9-15)
  • Conflicts with: Settlement growth can conflict with wastewater treatment plant buffers, employment precinct siting, school siting and the sequencing of outfall or shared-asset delivery. (Source: romsey-structure-plan-submissions-epa-greater-western-water.pdf, pp.8-10; Source: GWW Developer Sewage Eduction Policy.pdf, pp.1-5)

GWW’s service area extends west from the Melbourne central business district across 3,700 square kilometres and serves approximately 550,000 residential customers and more than 50,000 non-residential customers. (Source: romsey-structure-plan-submissions-epa-greater-western-water.pdf, p.6) That scale means Macedon Ranges servicing decisions sit inside a broader western and northern metropolitan-regional network rather than inside a council-only infrastructure system. (Source: romsey-structure-plan-submissions-epa-greater-western-water.pdf, p.6)

Regional water security is also cross-jurisdictional because the 2026-27 desalinated water order was made for Greater Melbourne and connected regions, while GWW’s local Macedon Ranges work includes Romsey and Lancefield projects. (Source: Greater Western Water desalinated water outlook May 2026; Source: Working together for Macedon Ranges water future) Council’s role is therefore partly coordination and advocacy, while asset planning, connection consent and supply-side delivery sit with GWW and state water planning. (Source: Macedon Ranges water use and catchment areas; Source: Greater Western Water land development page)

Gaps in This Analysis

The largest gap is the absence of the actual GWW sewer and water Network Servicing Plan overview PDFs and Macedon Ranges west/east map PDFs that the GWW land development page lists. (Source: Greater Western Water land development page) Without those maps, this analysis cannot identify pipe alignments, shared asset timing, pump-station catchments, outfall routes, planned tank locations, recycled-water availability, or parcel-level bring-forward-cost exposure. (Source: Greater Western Water land development page; Source: GWW Land Development Manual V9 December 2025.pdf, pp.28-30)

The second gap is the missing content of the 3 March 2026 GWW presentation to councillors. (Source: 25-march-2026-scheduled-meeting-agenda.pdf, p.13) The agenda proves that the briefing occurred and identifies the presenters, but it does not include the slide deck, maps, project list, capacity numbers or agreed actions. (Source: 25-march-2026-scheduled-meeting-agenda.pdf, p.13)

The third gap is Romsey’s unfinished odour analysis and BAO boundary. (Source: romsey-structure-plan-submissions-epa-greater-western-water.pdf, pp.2-10) EPA and GWW both identify that the buffer needs further technical resolution, so any final statement about affected hectares, school relocation, employment precinct yield or residential land loss would be premature. (Source: romsey-structure-plan-submissions-epa-greater-western-water.pdf, pp.2-10)

The fourth gap is project-level capacity data for the Gisborne sewer storage tank, Romsey Water Filtration Plant upgrade and Lancefield pipeline. (Source: Gisborne sewer upgrade works; Source: Working together for Macedon Ranges water future) The sources state that these works exist and describe general outcomes, but they do not provide megalitre capacity, equivalent population, catchment served, design horizon or development triggers. (Source: Gisborne sewer upgrade works; Source: Working together for Macedon Ranges water future)

Production Caveat

This page identifies a major planning signal, but the current evidence base is not yet a complete technical package. Do not use it as final parcel-level or yield-level advice until the missing primary reports named in the gaps section are present. The defensible use today is to identify the mechanism, dependencies, current known status and exact evidence still needed for a complete statutory planning view.

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