Sydney Water’s $42 million network upgrade to the St Mary’s Wastewater pumping station in Sydney’s West will soon be completed in May 2023, as part of the St Mary’s Growth Amplification project.
The St Mary’s Growth Amplification project involves several critical improvements, including installing a one-kilometre-long pressure main, power supply improvements to ensure continued operation during power outages, emergency storage upgrades to provide an additional four hours of capacity during power outages and a boost to pumping capacity.
The pumping capacity of the St Mary’s Wastewater Pumping Station is currently 900L per second and with this upgrade will more than double with the site soon able to pump 1,900L per second. The new pumps will be powerful enough to fill an entire Olympic swimming pool in less than 22 minutes.
The operational upgrade of the St Mary’s Wastewater Pumping Station (WPS) will be complete by May 2023. The network capacity upgrades began in August 2020 and are paramount to servicing the rapidly growing population in the Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment.
The St Mary’s wastewater system currently caters for approximately 161,500 people and is set to increase by approximately 20,000 individuals by the end of 2023 and 67,000 by 2036.
Sydney Water Principal Project Manager, Trevor Mondon, believes the upgrades will help future proof the region for years.
“Sydney Water is not just about building critical infrastructure, but ensuring they are constantly upgraded to meet customer needs,” Mr Mondon said.
“Delivery of this project demonstrates Sydney Water’s commitment to support growth and service demand whilst ensuring no deterioration to the environment and public health.”
Feature image: Trevor Mondon, Sydney Water Principle Project Manager (LEFT) and Paul Smith, Construction Manager, West Region Delivery Team (RIGHT) at the newly upgraded St Mary’s Wastewater pumping station. Provided by Sydney Water.