Unitywater will be busy over the next five years delivering water and wastewater infrastructure for a ballooning Queensland region.
One of Australia’s fastest-growing regions is undergoing a water and wastewater overhaul under the tutelage of Unitywater.
The utility will be spending $2 billion across five years to ensure infrastructure across Moreton Bay, Sunshine Coast and Noosa meets the needs of an additional 525,000 people and 215,600 new homes by 2046 – the Queensland Government’s projected population growth for the catchment.
This will see the construction of new infrastructure and the refurbishment of existing assets, with several pump stations either being built or restored.
Unitywater executive manager – sustainable infrastructure solutions Mike Basterfield discussed some of the key projects occurring, which starts with the Aura and Harmony program, consisting of three core projects: Aura Water, Aura Wastewater and Harmony Water.
“The Aura Water project includes construction of a new water reservoir and installation of 12 kilometres of new water pipeline from the Ewen Maddock water treatment plant to Aura in Caloundra South,” he told Pump Industry.
“Aura’s water reservoir will be located on the western side of the Bruce Highway, just across from the Aura residential development. Construction commenced in mid-2023 and is expected to be completed by late 2026, weather and construction conditions permitting.”
Similarly, the Aura Wastewater project will include the installation of 12.5km of pipeline to transfer wastewater to the Kawana treatment plant from Aura in Caloundra South. This also involves a new sewer pump station comprising a 15m-deep wet well and two 350-kilowatt (kW) pumps weighing 3.6 tonnes each.
The Harmony Water project will see a new 12-megalitre (ML) water reservoir constructed at Tanawha alongside 2.6km of water pipeline connecting the reservoir to the Harmony residential development in Palmview.
Basterfield also shined a light on several other projects, including the new Waraba wastewater network, supporting the new city of Waraba and its 30,000 projected homes.
“The project includes construction of a state-of-the-art wastewater pumping station and more than 4.5km of pipeline to connect the pump station to Unitywater’s existing network,” he said.
The wastewater pump station includes a 15m-deep wet well and two 54kW pumps, which will pump 381 litres of wastewater per second through the pump station.
Then there’s the Morayfield wastewater network capacity upgrade, which will help unlock about 6000 new homes.
“Stage one (of this) will deliver wastewater services for 26,000 people and includes upgrading two wastewater pump stations on Coach Road West and Buchanan Road and laying nearly three kilometres of wastewater pipeline.”
Unitywater’s capital investment in the coming years will be spread across new projects and refurbishments, with a 70:30 split between the two, respectively.
“Within that is a $450 million replacements and renewals program to improve existing water and wastewater assets over the next five years,” Basterfield said. “This balance between renewals and growth is determined … to meet the needs of new customers while delivering the required levels of service to existing customers.”
Unitywater has contracted Abergeldie, Downer, Dormway and Elevate – a joint venture between Aurecon and AECOM – for the $2 billion capital investment program.
During tendering, Unitywater used an approved products and suppliers list, placing strong emphasis on capability, safe delivery and product compliance with standards.
Basterfield said working with more than one partner would expedite delivery.
“Our collaborative delivery partnership improves the ability to deliver our $2 billion capital investment program safely and on time, while improving confidence for our customers and stakeholders,” he said.
“Abergeldie and Downer are working across Unitywater’s portfolio of wastewater treatment plants and southern distribution networks, Dormway is delivering projects on the northern distribution networks and Elevate supports us with front-end engineering and design services.”
Basterfield said its partners bring a track record of delivering complex water and wastewater delivery projects, with the “right mix of experience and resources” to boot. This has led to the commencement of 147 infrastructure projects since May 2024.
Abergeldie was added as a delivery partner in February and will be specifically tasked with supporting wastewater treatment plant upgrades in Kawana and Coolum.
“Abergeldie brings expertise in complex water infrastructure delivery and a strong understanding of Unitywater and our customers, working with us to deliver the Maroochydore wastewater treatment plant upgrade,” Basterfield said.
When asked which partners brought specific expertise in pump projects, Basterfield said because each company had a long-standing involvement in water and wastewater projects, “pump systems form a routine and well understood part of their capability”.
Pump technologies that prioritise reliability, energy efficiency and low maintenance are being adopted, including sensors that support condition monitoring processes.
Unitywater must also factor in the unique geographical challenges the Moreton Bay, Sunshine Coast and Noosa regions pose.
“Our region’s topography varies which can create some challenges,” Basterfield said. “Wastewater networks rely on gravity and in flatter areas, with very little natural fall available, pipes often need to be installed deeper or supported by additional pump stations.
“In contrast, some suburbs in our service area that are hilly like Buderim or Samford can be more difficult when building infrastructure. When combined with coastal conditions and assets spread across a wide area, planning and delivering water and wastewater infrastructure becomes more complex.”
Unitywater oversees more than $4.3 billion of water, wastewater and recycled water infrastructure to service over 900,000 residents across its catchment. The utility will be hoping to complete many of its $2 billion capital delivery projects by the early 2030s.
This feature appeared in the Autumn edition of Pump Industry.
