News in brief

Auckland, New Zealand.

Works on hold for Auckland supercity

COVID-19 restrictions have put the breaks on two of Auckland’s major infrastructure development projects – the City Rail Link and the Central Interceptor. Watercare commenced works on the Central Interceptor project in Māngere in July, with the 14.7 km sewer tunnel to run from Grey Lynn to the Māngere Wastewater Treatment Plant and expected to be completed in 2025. Once completed, it will be the longest bored wastewater tunnel in New Zealand. According to the Executive Program Director Shayne Cunis, the project came to a halt in late August due to recent COVID-19 outbreak. Mr Cunis says that under the public health response legislation, basic operations were still permitted, but expects the project’s operations to be able to return to “normal” when Auckland shifts to alert level 3. Greater onsite restrictions for staff will still be in place after the alert level is downgraded, with workers having to maintain social distancing and onsite “bubbles”. He says the latest lockdown will affect the time it takes to complete the project, but he remains confident it can still be delivered on budget. Across town, developments on the $4.4 billion City Rail Link have also been stalled. A spokesperson from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) says they are unable to confirm what operations will look like for the CRL and Central Interceptor projects under level 3 restrictions.

Third TBM joins METRONET project

‘Jana’ will be operated by tunnelling specialist Rob Carr with works expected to take place through September. Western Australia Minister for Transport, Planning and Ports Rita Saffioti announced the arrival of tunnel boring machine (TBM) ‘Jana’ on the METRONET Thornlie-Cockburn Link Project in August. TBMs ‘Grace’ and ‘Sandy’ have already been busy at work constructing the Airport Line underground. Jana will be used to drill twin 100 m tunnels under the freight rail corridor near Ranford Road Bridge, which falls under the Thornlie-Cockburn Link project as part of the METRONET project. The machine will be operated by tunnel-boring expert Rob Carr, with work expected to take place through August and September. The TBM is 3.5 m long and weighs 27 t, and was named after 13-year-old Coogee resident Jana Edmondson. Ms Edmondson has cerebral palsy, and according to her father Paul, her favourite activity is riding the train to Perth and interacting with the other passengers. Jana was one name selected out of more than 1,300 entries. TBMs are traditionally given female names for good luck in honour of the patron saint of underground workers, Saint Barbara, who is believed to bring success to the project. METRONET was a key election promise from the newly-reelected McGowan Labor government. It includes 72 km of new passenger rail and up to 18 new stations, encompassing a rail link from the Perth airport to Forrestfield in the southeast and an extension to Yanchep in the north, among other projects. The $1.86 billion project is expected to be operational in the first half of 2022.

Water security package includes pipeline upgrades

McGowan Government has announced it has secured $20 million in Commonwealth funding towards a package to improve regional water security. The projects will support farmers in dealing with the consequences of climate change and reduced rainfall. The funding is delivered through the Commonwealth’s National Water Grid Fund Connections pathway and will go towards the $43.8 million package for the state. The McGowan Government said it had advocated for WA farmers for close to 12 months to secure this funding. The projects that will be delivered under the package will include desalination projects, dam catchment improvements, and infrastructure and pipeline upgrades to increase water storage capacity. Pipeline improvements will be included in the $16.5 million budget for Water Corporation projects, taking place between Katanning and Kojonup. Collectively, these benefits will increase water security and help restore resilience in the farming communities. “I’m very pleased to see that the McGowan Government’s lobbying efforts have been successful in securing this $20 million in Commonwealth funding for WA farmers,” says WA Water Minister Dave Kelly. “By funding these projects, we will increase the water storage capacity of many WA agricultural communities and provide more reliable emergency agricultural and livestock water supplies for farmers to use during periods of dry conditions when on-farm supplies have been depleted.”

Inaugural TasWater CEO steps down

TasWater Chair Dr Stephen Gumley announced in August that Michael Brewster will be stepping down as inaugural CEO after eight years in the position. “Michael has provided extraordinary leadership and service to the water and sewerage sector in Tasmania,” says Dr Gumley. In 2013, following the largest economic reform undertaken in Tasmania, Mr Brewster was appointed TasWater CEO, leading the organisation and the transfer of more than 600 staff and $2 billion in water and sewerage assets. In 2016, Mr Brewster oversaw a multimillion-dollar plan to remove the remaining Public Health Alerts from water supplies in 24 regional towns across Tasmania. “Under his direction, the team delivered a reduction in service interruptions and sewage spills, and improvements in water quality, service delivery and sewage compliance, to name a few,” says Dr Gumley. In 2017, Mr Brewster played a significant role in laying out the framework that would underpin the Memorandum of Understanding between government, councils and TasWater. In 2019, he oversaw the establishment of TasWater’s Capital Delivery Office to deliver its 10-year, $1.8 billion capital works program. Mr Brewster will remain in the role as TasWater CEO until February 2022. The board has begun the process of appointing a new CEO and the position will be advertised.

43km Denmark pipeline completed

On 3 August, Western Australia Water Minister Dave Kelly announced the official completion of the $25 million Albany to Denmark pipeline. Denmark’s water supply has been heavily impacted by climate change, and according to Water Corporation, the region has experienced increasingly dry decades since records began in 1911. Between 2014 and 2019, Denmark recorded four of its five driest winters on record. Rainfall is becoming an increasingly less reliable source of year-round drinking water. To secure the town’s water supply, a 43 km pipeline has been constructed to connect Denmark to Lower Great Southern Towns Water Supply Scheme (LGSTWSS). The project began in September 2019 with construction commencing July 2020, following the appointment of local contractor Georgiou. The pipeline was installed using horizontal directional drilling, or trenchless construction, to mitigate impact on natural resources. An average of 400 m of pipe was installed each day, or 2 km per week. The pipeline is not expected to be required until next year due to the current dam levels and the above-average rainfall the region experienced this year. Mr Kelly said that this winter’s heavy rainfall was an anomaly, and the last time the dam was full at this time of year was 2005. Environmental targets were exceeded through construction, with a 42 per cent reduction in vegetation clearance and all black cockatoo habitat intact. The project was a collaboration between Water Corporation, Shire of Denmark, City of Albany, Main Roads, Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, and head contractor Georgiou.

Ballarat CBD sewer line installed

Ballarat’s two largest sewer lines, Ballarat East and Ballarat South, were constructed almost 100 years ago. These sewer lines are now in the process of upgrade, where both will be duplicated over the next 3-5 years with the new lines installed parallel to the existing sewer. Central Highlands Water (CHW) has invested $25 million into the major project, and the upgrade is intended to service the Ballarat community for another 100 years. Stage one of the project commenced in mid-Aril 2021 with open excavation and microtunnelling in the CBD area. Microtunnelling techniques were used where possible to minimise ground disturbance; however, attempts at Little Bridge Street were unsuccessful due to ground conditions and excavation was instead necessary. CHW was to install a 600 mm diameter sewer pipe 4.5 m beneath Peel Street, from Scott Parade to Little Bridge Street. CHW announced the completion of the CBD section on Friday 8 August, with construction now continuing on Peel Street heading south. CHW Project Manager Mick Dwyer says the work on the CBD section had been both crucial and challenging. “This critical section through the Ballarat CBD was always going to be one of the most complex, due to the proximity of Peel Street businesses to the sewer path plus the difficult ground conditions beneath the surface. The need to change our approach at the Little Bridge Street intersection was unforeseen, even with the significant amount of investigation works completed prior.”

Elevated view of downtown Ballarat.