There are lot of unofficial stock truck effluent dump all around Australia, in country roadside parking bays, down infrequently used road and even along the major Highways and City streets when accidental spillage often occur.
But all that is about to change and with the building of the new CVLX saleyard, Ballarat is set to install Australia’s first effluent disposal dump for the transport industry.
And the money for the project has been sourced from within the industry’s own resources.
Avoca-based transporters and state president of Livestock Road Transport Association of Victoria president Graham Howell says that $20,000 of funding needed to install an effluent dump at CVLX Miners Rest has been secured.
Mr Howell said that the ALRTA, the livestock transport association’s national body recent under took a study tour to New Zealand where it was found the every shire in the country operates transport effluent dump that are funded by ratepayers.
In Australia, what the association has also discovered is there are a few trouble hot-stops where effluent falling from livestock trucks is a major problem.
One is the Warrego Highway near Toowoomba in Qld and another is the entire length of the Western Highway, from the SA-Victoria, through Horsham and beyond Ballarat where the frequency of livestock transport is high.
He says VicRoads recognises the problem but wont fund these facilities and if they did $400,000 would be required to build each road-side dump, and then some-one would have to monitor and maintain them.
So with the completion of the CVLX and its location on the Western Highway the association has been in discussion with CVLX management seeking to have an effluent dump installed at CVLX.
However, efforts to source the required had so far been unsuccessful. That is until the Victorian branch and the national body concluded that a $400,000 funding grant obtained for the proposed Warrego Highway dump site was unlikely to go ahead for three to four years until that site is discovered and developed.
So with the agreement of the funding provider, some of those funds will be utilized in the interim for the installation of stock truck effluent dump at CVLX which was incorporated into their initial plans but not installed.
“It is a good opportunity to get the ball rolling and hopefully roll out a series of effluent drop around the country, and importantly to ring Melbourne” he said.
“It is a good look for our industry and the state authorities who understand the problem faced with effluent falling from livestock trucks are fully supportive of the initiative”.
“Most of our members on their newer gear have effluent tanks fitted so the immediate take-up of these facilities is likely to be swift, he said.
Mr Howell said the association has spoken with CVLX planners and they are confident they can install the dump at a cost of about $20,000 provided the money is guaranteed.
“And we’ve got the money and hopeful we’ll get the facility installed” he said.