Water and sewer communications network upgrade
We are upgrading our communications network to improve the flood resilience of our sewer and water systems.
As part of the upgrade, new towers and directional antennas will be installed at five Council sites.
The new towers will form part of a wireless backbone network that will allow us to maintain monitoring and control of water and sewer treatment plants during floods.
The sites receiving new towers are:
- Brunswick Valley Sewage Treatment Plant
- Ocean Shores Sewage Treatment Plant
- Bangalow Sewage Treatment Plant
- Hayters Hill Radio Repeater Site, Bangalow Rd
- Bangalow Reservoir.
What is being built?
The towers being erected at each site are tapered steel poles, 30m in height. The antennas are low-powered units that are mounted on the poles to create an unobstructed, line-of-sight wireless communications link.
The antennas are not for 5G or other mobile phone networks and the towers cannot be used for mobile telephone antennas.
The towers are designed for the Council radio network. They cannot be mounted with additional antennas, with the exception of the unit at Hayters Hill, which will also carry an antenna for the Volunteer Rescue Association radio network.
What work is being done?
Preliminary surveying and ground testing work will begin in February 2025, with construction work scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2025.
Work onsite will involve:
- Construction of a concrete base
- Erection of one 30m steel pole
- Installation of point-to-point antennas
- Radio link commissioning and configuration
Work at each location is expected to take about two weeks to complete. During construction the equipment onsite will include:
- Tip trucks
- Cranes
- Elevated platform vehicles
- Concrete mixing trucks
Working hours will be limited to:
- 7 am to 6 pm Monday to Friday
- 8 am to 1 pm on Saturdays.
No work will be done on Sundays or public holidays. Work may occur outside regular hours under exceptional circumstances.
Council will contact residents close to worksites to provide details of the work to occur.
Why is this work being done?
We need to secure data links to sewer and water assets to maintain safe and reliable services.
Current NBN and 4G internet connections for sewer and water assets are vulnerable to disruption during extreme events. Connections to some sewer plants were disrupted during the 2022 floods, affecting Council’s ability to maintain services.
This project is supported by funding from the NSW Government Northern Rivers Water and Wastewater Repair and Recovery Program and installation work will be carried out by NSW Public Works.
Additional information about the radio network
Are these radio towers different to mobile phone towers?
Yes, the antennas used in this network are different to antennas used in mobile phone networks. The antennas used in Council’s network are designed to send signals point-to-point between two fixed locations. The signals are sent in a narrow beam directly from the transmitting antenna to the receiving antenna.
This is different to mobile phone base station antennas, which are designed to send signals over a wide area to ground level where the customers with phones are located.
Is there any radiation risk from these antennas and this network?
Advice from the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) is that there appears to be no risk to members of the public from radiofrequency radiation used by these antennas as they are point-to-point antennas mounted approximately 30 m above ground.
If any hazard exists, it would likely be confined to the region directly in front and quite close to one of the antennas while they are in operation.
Contact details
Craig Purdy, Asset Engineer
02 6626 7000