COUNCILLORS have copped to "dropping the ball" on a sewer situation that's left almost 200 households under the pump.
Lake Macquarie council dumped its contract with Remondis for sewer pump-out services, leaving 195 residents just four months to find an alternative.
At Monday night's meeting, Awaba resident Hayley Maeder said locals are facing the very real possibility of having to choose between feeding their families or emptying their tanks.
"Hunter Water told us they have no plan for us, Remondis have given us a great quote of $50,000 a year per resident in our community and 'just Google it' has led to quotes of $5500 a year to $12,000 a year, depending on your household," she said.
"To be clear, absolutely no resident came forward to me and said this is the difference between going on a fancy holiday or staying home.
"It will be the difference between, 'us deciding to pay this bill or a different one', 'I will no longer be able to afford the medication that I need for my family' or 'I am facing the real risk of homelessness because mortgage repayments and rental payments have just gone out the window'."
A Remondis spokesman has since told the Newcastle Herald the $50,000 a year quote was the result of an error.
"An administrative error resulted in our digital sales team issuing incorrect pricing to some residents," he said.
"We apologise unreservedly for this misinformation and any upset it may have caused."
The spokesman pointed out that its services have essentially been subsidised by Lake Macquarie council over the years.
"What each resident will end up paying will depend on how frequently they require services," he said.
"Less frequent pump-outs will result in some residents paying less than the flat fee as charged currently by council."
The council has provided the service since 1989, until it recently ended the contract leaving mums and dads to negotiate their own deals.
In a letter to affected residents, the council provided parting words of advice to "search the internet" for terms like 'sewage removal services Hunter area' or 'sewage removal services near me' because their septic tank wouldn't be emptied from June 30.
Ms Maeder said beyond the community's financial concerns, they're worried about the environmental impact and public health issues if residents who can't afford to pump their sewage simply decide not to.
She said one resident told her she would no longer be able to visit her family or grandchildren because she won't be able to afford fuel, while another local mum may not be able to take maternity leave because she'll need to return to work to pay her bills.
"So the question I keep asking myself is, how is this decision right?" Ms Maeder said.
"If it goes against the NSW state guidelines, if it impacts our local environment and has a public health risk plus places a huge financial strain on our families and increases mental health - no way that I look at this, every channel I go down to look at this to try to find the reason why - I can't find it.
"So when I ask the question, how is this right? The simple conclusion is that it's wrong."
Liberal Cr Jason Pauling's motion asking council staff to take a closer look at the issue had the support of every elected official in the chamber.
He said the council had "missed the mark" in how it was executed, the lack of civic leadership shown and "massively" misunderstanding the impact on residents' lives.
"I put everyone on notice, if we don't get this sorted, and we don't get this sorted soon, it's on," he said.
"I think this time, rather than being on my own, I reckon I've got a heap of councillors in my corner with me because we're all embarrassed, we are deeply sorry for how this has played out."
Cr Pauling said when the idea was first presented to councillors it made sense, but somewhere between that and where it has landed is an "enormous gaping hole" around community stewardship, collaboration, consultation and assistance.
"They're things we've always prided ourselves on and I think that's why this one has rattled me so much," he said.
The council heard about 23 of the 195 affected properties have the option to connect to Hunter Water's reticulated sewer network.
The rest have little option but to negotiate their own deals with private operators.
At the meeting, a council staff member said it had been in contact with a company that would provide residents with the service at a similar cost to what they already pay through their rates, with the option of choosing a service frequency that meets their needs.
Labor Cr David Belcher said the anxiety the situation must be creating is absolutely "horrendous".
"There is a collective responsibility, yeah this is a very small number of residents but we are a city that doesn't leave people behind," he said.
"This is what it feels like today, like we've left people behind.
"The problem with this is, you can't get the toothpaste back in the tube, the anxiety is already out there, the mistrust, the apprehension towards this council is already out there over this item and it's going to take a fair bit of leg work and pushing from this council to help them get that reputation and trust back."
Last year, Hunter Water completed the $36 million Wyee Sewer Scheme, which has given more than 400 homes in the area access to the sewer network for the first time.
It told the Herald recently that the estimated cost of connecting 2,500 lots to the wastewater network would be in the order of $150 million, or more than $60,000 per property on average.
An online petition addressed to NSW Premier Chris Minns asking for urgent assistance for residents has already clocked up 302 signatures since Thursday.
