Campbelltown Council Stormwater & OSD Requirements Guide

Stormwater Requirements for Builders in Campbelltown

Campbelltown City anchors the Macarthur region and is entering a new growth phase. Greenfield fronts at Menangle Park and Mount Gilead (Gilead) are bringing thousands of new lots to market, while established suburbs such as Campbelltown, Ingleburn, Minto, Leumeah and Glenfield carry steady duplex, townhouse and apartment activity around the rail corridor. Campbelltown Council’s engineers assess stormwater on every residential application, and incomplete drainage documentation remains one of the most common causes of delay.

The Planning Controls That Apply

The governing document is the Campbelltown (Sustainable City) Development Control Plan 2015 – usually called the Sustainable City DCP – which sets out Council’s development controls including stormwater management, supported by Council’s engineering design guidance for drainage design. Volume 2 of the DCP contains site-specific parts for release areas, including a dedicated part for Menangle Park, which carries precinct drainage and water cycle controls tied to that release area’s infrastructure plan.

What Campbelltown Typically Requires

• On-site detention (OSD): development that increases impervious area is generally required to detain runoff and discharge at a controlled rate to Council’s system. Storage and discharge criteria are set by Council’s current engineering requirements – confirm the figures for your catchment before design rather than reusing values from past projects.
• Stormwater drainage plans: a civil engineer’s plan showing the lawful point of discharge, pipe and pit layout, levels, gutters and downpipe capacity, and overland flow paths is expected with the DA or CDC.
• Overland flow management: Council pays particular attention to overland drainage paths through and around sites – detention storage and structures must stay clear of them, and habitable floor levels must respect them.
• WSUD and water quality: subdivisions and larger residential projects must incorporate water quality treatment consistent with the DCP, commonly demonstrated through MUSIC modelling.
• Easements: lots falling away from the street need inter-allotment drainage easements over downstream land, which should be negotiated before lodgement.

Menangle Park and Mount Gilead

Both release areas sit on elevated country draining toward the Nepean and Georges River systems, and both are being delivered in stages. Builders should verify that the lot’s designated connection point and any regional detention or water quality infrastructure are in place, and comply with the precinct-specific DCP controls – these can differ in important details from the general Sustainable City DCP provisions.

Local Factors in Campbelltown

• Georges River catchment: much of the LGA drains east to the upper Georges River, a catchment whose health is a stated Council priority – expect genuine scrutiny of water quality measures and creek-adjacent work.
• Bow Bowing–Bunbury Curran Creek: this trunk drainage system runs through the urban spine from Minto to Glenfield, with flood-affected land along its corridor that carries floor level requirements.
• Variable terrain and clay soils: the LGA ranges from flat valley floors to steep scarp country. Shale-derived clays limit infiltration, so absorption is rarely an acceptable primary disposal method.

How Builders Should Prepare

Order a detail survey with AHD levels, check flood and overland flow affectation early, and confirm the lawful point of discharge. Have a civil engineer prepare the OSD and drainage package to Council’s current criteria, including overland flow assessment where relevant. In release areas, obtain the subdivision’s drainage strategy before designing the dwelling. A complete stormwater package at lodgement is the fastest path through Campbelltown’s assessment process.

Contrive Consultants prepares stormwater and OSD designs accepted by Campbelltown City Council, from infill duplexes to release-area housing. View our services or contact us – call +61 497 848 111 or email info@contriveconsultants.com.au.