Mirani Water Recycling Facility and Bowen Sewage Treatment Plant – Shared Superintendency

MIRANI WATER RECYCLING FACILITY & BOWEN SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT - SHARED SUPERINTENDENCY

Dr Nicole Davis (former Mackay Regional Council Chief Operating Officer Water and Waste - now Redland Council) and Troy Pettiford Chief Operating Officer Water from Whitsunday Regional Council were instrumental in the realisation of the Shared Superintendency for Joint contract Management which facilitated significant efficiencies and lessons learned across both councils and projects. This article draws on MRC Business Cases, Greening and Growing Bowen Project Plan, Qld Water Award Submission, Qld Water Regional Alliance Program (QWRAP)Bid Pool Funding Project Finalisation Report and notes from the superintendent.

Multiple efficiencies stem from a shared superintendency across similar projects. Mackay and Whitsunday Regional councils tasked a highly skilled and qualified superintendent to oversee the upgrades to the Bowen Sewerage Treatment Plant (STP) and Mirani Water Recycling Facility (WRF) with far-reaching benefits realised in technical and commercial spheres.

Both projects resulted from community need, and environmental stewardship and regulatory compliance requirements. Lessons learned were transportable and the shared arrangement has augmented and boosted the knowledge transfer between projects and between councils.

Project drivers - Community Need and Environmental Consideration

Mackay Regional Council (MRC) and Whitsunday Regional Council (WRC) jointly commissioned the Mirani Water Reclamation Facility Upgrade project and the Bowen Sewage Treatment Plant Upgrade project, respectively over the threeyear forward works program from 2018-2019 to 2020-2021 financial years. Key delivery personnel for WRC were Chief Operating Officer for Water, Troy Pettiford and his counterpart at MRC, Dr. Nicole Davis (now GM Infrastructure and Operations at Redland CC) and Jason Devitt, Director of Engineering and Commercial Infrastructure, MRC.

Both plants are essential to their regions’ water infrastructure, ensuring the wastewater generated in the townships is safely recycled and put to the community’s beneficial use.

The respective upgrade projects provide security of service as the old plants were reaching their capacity and failures were becoming more frequent. Plant failures result in damage to the environment and possibly harm to the community.

The population growth in both regions has increased pressure on the aging plants. The community stakeholders are no longer prepared to accept wastewater that is harmful to the environment, in particular the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). The Greater Whitsunday regional catchment can significantly

Mr Troy Pettiford

Dr Nicole Davis

Bowen Sewage Treatment Plant.

impact the GBR through the discharge of nutrients from Environmentally Relevant Activities such as aging sewage treatment facilities. The timely completion of these modern state of the art treatment facilities meeting the new Reef protection regulations has been critical to preventing potential environmental harm. Therefore, the use of a highly experienced and qualified professional contract superintendent has not only been in the best interest of these councils’ cost-wise but also for the sensitive GBR environment.

The Bowen STP upgrade is the final phase of the Greening and Growing Bowen Program. A range of projects developed by WRC to redirect highly treated effluent to state priority industrial areas, parklands and sporting facilities - effluent which would otherwise be discharged into the ocean, thereby protecting the GBR by reducing nutrients load release.

The significant volume of effluent being discharged into the Great Barrier Reef, while potentially harmful to the Great Barrier Reef’s health, was also going to waste, especially when considering the number of benefits that could be had from its reuse. The program’s delivery will also conserve surface and ground water allocations for industrial, urban and food production uses (currently being used for irrigation purposes).

The Mirani WRF treats raw sewage from the Mirani and Marian catchments and discharges treated effluent as recycled water for unrestricted irrigation of golf courses, turf farms and sugar cane (often referred to as Class A water) or as effluent during a wet weather event. A high-level stakeholder analysis for the Mirani WRF was undertaken to determine the level of impact and involvement across all stakeholders. Mirani and Marian’s residents were major stakeholders in the upgrade project and a key objective was maintenance of the desired service levels through adequate wastewater treatment capacity and performance whilst the project was delivered. The upgrade projects therefore benefit their communities directly as the water produced is largely reused.

The new sediment and nutrient emission standards developed as part of the Reef regulations, although postponed to 1 June 2021 (due to COVID-19), will apply to new, expanded or intensified regulated industrial land use activities that release nutrients and sediment. This includes activities such as sewage and water treatment plants and these activities (already regulated under the Environment Protection Act 1994) will be required to meet new discharge standards to ensure no worsening of nutrient or sediment pollutant loads.

The health and protection of the GBR and reduction of nutrients and sediment loading impacting the reef is a key priority for the State Government Environmental agencies - Department of Environment and Heritage Protection and Environmental Protection and Biodiversity conservation. The risk of noncompliance and potential to cause environmental harm were strong project drivers along with potential public health issues (Mirani) with water quality deterioration due to the original plant being over hydraulically overloaded.

Upgrading aging conventional treatment plants for state-

of-the-art treatment facilities has improved user amenity and boosted tourism (COVID notwithstanding) through a reduction in the volume and pollutant loading of treated effluent entering sensitive coastal waterways. The Bowen STP commitment to reducing the nutrient (phosphorous and nitrogen) loads being discharged will help ensure that the health of the GBR is maintained and the reef itself will continue to be a major economic driver for the Whitsunday region.

In the case of the Mirani WRF, Mackay Water completed extensive planning and optioneering to understand the impact of a capital-intensive approach by reviewing options concerning financial costs (capital investment and annual operational costs, effluent quality, disruption during construction, operability, and maintenance. The completion of the mulitacriteria assessment resulted in the recommendation for a new Recycled Water Storage (RWS) to be designed and constructed while the master design was for the detailed design and construction of a Liquid Stream Upgrade (LSU). The LSU was designed to be capable of providing adequate treatment for up to three times the average dry weather flow for an increased service population.

An Eye on the Future

With the area given a partial drought-declaration, a rarity for tropical coastal regions, the emerging climate change issue has required all coastal regions to maximise their water reuse opportunities at their wastewater treatment plant facilities helping to augment the region’s potable water supplies.

The Bowen STP serves the community of the Bowen and the immediate surrounding area. The township area has a population of 10,377 (ABS, 2016) but has a connected sewer equivalent population (EP) of 8,000 (summer months) and 8,500 (winter periods and crops harvesting months). The existing plant had a capacity of 6,000EP and was constructed in the 1970s. A recent performance and capacity assessment of the STP indicated that it was operating at 142% of its design capacity and was exceeding the limits of the existing license (8000 EP) and required a substantial upgrade. The project’s proposed scope included the construction of a new 8,000 EP rated treatment plant on the existing STP site. The new plant will be a Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) plant. It shall operate in parallel with the existing 6,000 EP rated capacity STP to give the treatment facility a total combined capacity of 14,000 EP. It will ultimately expand Bowen’s agriculture, industrial and urban water supplies and reliability, and reduce the reliance and consumption of potable water sources while also providing the capacity at the STP to facilitate future growth. Although the Bowen plant has been built for 14,000 EP, it will initially be set up for 11,000 EP which is closer to the current population.

The Mirani WRF services the Mirani and Marian communities, a combined population of 5,444 (ABS, 2016). These two communities, in the picturesque Pioneer Valley west of Mackay, are placing increasing pressure on the aging Mirani WRF because of continuing population growth. The Mirani WRF had ongoing capacity issues when it was originally constructed in 2000 and in the interim upgrade in 2012. Mackay Water Services began investigating options from the upgrade in 2012 including soft engineering options such as constructed wetlands and irrigated forest as well as hard engineering options with eight scenarios reviewed in relation to financial costs, effluent quality and disruption during construction, operability and maintenance. A key element of the RWS upgrade was the use of semi-precast concrete panels (5.4m high, 2.5m wide and 375mm thick) that were prefabricated off-site. The precast concrete panels account for 20 percent of all concrete with the remainder sourced from local companies. For the last two decades, a technology used in the UK at the Mirani site was the first in Australia to utilise this modular semi-precast system.

With successful delivery of this

Bowen STP Timeline Infographic.

Mirani Water Recycling Facility.

Mirani Water Recycling Facility.

project it is envisaged that this exciting technology will be taken up by the water industry across the country for future projects.

The Mirani plant is built for 7,000 EP with the capacity (and some connections installed as part of this project) to increase to 10,000 EP.

Both projects have been built for today but also with the future in mind representing immediate and long-term savings by: • Using significantly less chemicals. • Consume less electrical power. • Have future capacity upgrades built in/considered as part of the project; and • Providing security and certainty for this essential service.

Innovation and Collaboration

Mackay and Whitsunday Regional Councils worked together in engaging a highly skilled and qualified superintendent to oversee the Bowen STP and Mirani WRF upgrades in a threeyear forward works program. The design and construction were undertaken in conjunction with the Principal Contractor’s Quality, Safety and Environmental Management Systems with the proposal that an independent superintendent administers the contract; one of the many duties of a superintendent was the requirement to be fair and impartial to both parties of a contract.

The recommendation was for a superintendent not directly employed by either council but engaged through a consultancy agreement to ensure that they are not perceived to be influenced by either party, particularly either council. The superintendent’s role is to ensure that all requirements of the contracts are delivered in conjunction with the relevant specifications and codes, determined in the procurement stage.

Early collaboration through the Whitsunday, Isaac, Mackay (WIM) Alliance implemented the strategy for the new works packages to be merged, allowing the joint delivery through using the same superintendent together with aligned and consistent contract

Mirani Water Recycling Facility.

documentation, covering both work sites. The shared superintendent facilitated significant efficiencies and lessons learned across both councils and both projects regarding tender evaluations, technical similarities and common suppliers and engineers. This contract administration process was simplified by the previous work undertaken and funded through the Queensland Water Regional Alliance Program (QWRAP) to develop similar contract documentation and equipment lists.

With insufficient time commitment and funding for one contract resource for each upgrade project individually, through combining the work packages and sharing resources, a highly qualified superintendent was engaged full-time despite the 180 kilometre distance between sites. Early collaboration through the WIM Alliance implemented the new works packages’ strategy to be merged allowing for joint delivery through using the same superintendent together with aligned and consistent contract documentation covering both work sites. The superintendent was engaged early and assisted with the contract initiation and set up. This facilitated fast familiarisation, delivered efficiency savings and reduced establishment time with a shared focus on delivering sound and safe outcomes for the community.

This project is a clear demonstration of a major joint procurement initiative under a strategic agreement and an example of what can be achieved when regional councils collaborate in the early stages of capital planning to deliver projects more effectively and efficiently. The shared superintendent has enabled regional capital planning, investment (and outsourcing) benefits to be delivered to both MRC and WRC. It also allowed benchmarking and comparison opportunities between principal contractors, behaviours, construction methodologies and subcontractor performance.

Throughout the project, there was ongoing sharing of the lessons learned through the WIM Alliance team meetings and collaboration across the Whitsunday ROC CEOs and Alliance Leadership Group members.

Knowledge Sharing and Performance – A Quantitative Relationship

The knowledge and any learnings from this joint collaborative project were continuously shared with other service providers through the Chairs and Coordinators meetings, LGAQ and QWD’s Technical Reference Group communication channels.

The shared arrangement further enhanced the knowledge transfer between projects and councils through both the superintendent and common resources such as technical advisers. The superintendent has often been the agent of transfer and has enabled the information flow between the councils to help deliver strong project outcomes and increased internal council capability. The upgrades of both plants demonstrate what can be achieved by alignment in contract arrangements and technical specifications with the efficiencies underpinned by these shared services in the technical and commercial spheres, including:

• Contractual similarities – The contracts for both projects were drafted by the same legal team using an amended version of

AS4300. While there were subtle differences resulting from contract consolidation negotiations, the terms and conditions are essentially identical. With only one legal team involved, the time and

effort required to respond to questions/clarifications is minimised.

• Technical similarities – The same technical team drafted the technical requirements.

The technical solutions agreed for each site are very different.

However, the underlying technical requirements are essentially the same. Some differences did occur but with familiarity across the documents, timely responses were able to be made. Using the same engineers across both projects enhanced the relationship and the understanding of issues.

Resultant responses to any raised issues were timely, consistent and prudent.

• Both councils were involved with the other’s tender evaluation that closed around the same time, (19 and 20 June 2018), thereby enhancing each council’s understanding of the project drivers and objectives.

Joint tenders for servicing contracts covering common equipment in both plants were developed, also saving each council future monies

• Both councils engaged the same engineering consultants early and provided valuable input into the development of the Principal’s Project

Requirements for both projects.

These engineering consultants were also included in the contract evaluation team and as part of the technical challenge group.

Operational benefits across council water business units through cooperative efforts on: • Aligned SCADA architecture and electrical specifications. • Shared procurement of services and suppliers across the plants covering BDO Audits, centrifuges (GEA), UV (Trojan), blowers (Aerzen) and Control systems and SCADA. • MRC and WRC’s council safety teams undertaking joint safety audits across all regional plants in both council areas. Quality and levels-of-service benefits included preferred common equipment installed at both plants so that each council was able to assist the other with: • Critical spares replacements/ repairs, and storage of, in both council areas. • Improved resilience during future major weather events, shorter after-hours response at

Mirani WRF from Whitsunday maintenance standby personnel who can respond quicker to critical common equipment failures.

Risk Management on both projects was intensive and robust around risk to the environment, public health and OH&S with risk assessments carried out using corporate risk frameworks: • Mackay Water Services held a risk assessment workshop for the delivery of the upgrades and the risk mitigation strategy to reduce the likelihood of the risk event occurring. • Whitsunday Water Services held a hazard and operability (HAZOP) workshop at the project’s 30% design stage. The

HAZOP identified all potential risks and hazards associated with a design. • At the 80% design stage of each project, a Construction

Risk Assessment Workshop was also undertaken, detailing all constructions risks and hazards.

The joint superintendent link between these projects has enhanced outcomes for both councils, ensuring lessons learned are very transportable to other major projects:

Consistent determinations (similar recent experience on the other project can be used to guide determination).

Scheduling efficiencies across the projects - on a few occasions where the superintendent was required to be at two places simultaneously, the appointment of superintendent’s representatives covered these occurrences. The developed rapport and trust between the project managers and the superintendent have clearly been the foundation for the success of the shared arrangements.

The pricing structure and reporting were very similar on both projects, a legacy of the common team approach. There were efficiencies and time savings realised as payment claims, variation control and reporting systems were set up once and tweaked to suit both projects. Any enhancements were immediately realised on the other project.

Financial control was enhanced as comparisons between the project were readily available. The checking and evaluation of pricing submitted for variations was enhanced. Each project was visible to the superintendent and the pricing schedule for each sufficiently granular to provide guidance when comparing submitted pricing.

The cooperation between Mackay and Whitsunday Regional Councils has extended beyond the current projects. Identical or similar major items of plant, control system, hardware and design were specified to reduce spares holdings and facilitate staff sharing across the two regions. This is being extended to maintenance contractors who provide similar services to both regions.

The innovative approach of a shared superintendent arrangement dealt with costsharing, time constraint conflicts and escalation processes whereby the councils jointly determined the outcome that allowed the contractor to focus on the work at hand.

The shared superintendent role has been the catalyst rather than the reason for success. Without underlying trust, support and commitment from the authors of this initiative, it could not succeed. The right people, in the right place, will always deliver optimum results.