Published Monday, 30 April, 2007 at 03:14 PM
Deputy Premier, Treasurer and Minister for Infrastructure
The Honourable Anna Bligh
PIPELINE WORK OPENS ON NEW FRONT
April 30, 2007
Work on the 200km Western Corridor Recycled Water Project has opened on another front, with the first pipes of the Bundamba-to-Oxley section in the ground, Deputy Premier and Infrastructure Minister Anna Bligh announced today.
Ms Bligh, Federal Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd and Shadow Treasurer Wayne Swan today inspected construction on the Bundamba Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant component of the $9b SEQ Water Grid, the largest urban drought response in Australian history.
They met workers at the latest stage of the project, a 21.5km pipeline that will link wastewater treatment facilities at Goodna, Wacol and Oxley to the $400m plant being built at Bundamba.
Ms Bligh said Mr Rudd’s early commitment to the WCWRP emphasised how he understood the challenges faced by south east Queenslanders as they battled the drought.
“This is history in the making. Queenslanders are rolling up their sleeves and getting the job done. An army of almost 2000 workers across more than 30 sites are going at record pace to build the SEQ Water Grid,” she said.
“After Mr Rudd’s pledge to contribute $408m in February, it took another two months for the Prime Minister to wake up to what Queenslanders need and belatedly match that commitment.”
Ms Bligh also released the March monthly Queensland Water Commission report, which showed the WCRWP remains on track to be complete by the end of 2008. The report shows that all State Government timeframes remain as reported last month.
The report included for the first time the cost of boosting the connection between the Gold Coast desalination plant and the SEQ Water Grid.
Engineering evaluations have confirmed that an 8km stretch of pipeline between Helensvale and Molendinar, a pumping station and balance tank will need to be built to cope with the 125ML per day flow of drinking water from the plant. The $150 million upgrade was approved by the Government in March.
“We are now building a 125ML-a -day plant – more than double the size of the original proposal,” Ms Bligh said.
The QWC report also shows the effect of Level 4 water restrictions on the WCRWP. Inflows to the treatment plants have decreased as the community and business in SEQ have cut water consumption.
However, this is expected to return to normal as restrictions ease and will not significantly affect QWC projections that the Wivenhoe system will remain above 5% by the time purified and desalinated water is available in late 2008.
Ms Bligh said the WCRWP is a critical component of a project that guarantees water for SEQ regardless of whether or not we get rain.
“It is part of a complex infrastructure solution to insulate us from future drought and the effects of climate change,” she said.
“Along with the Gold Coast desalination plant, the Western Corridor project will mean SEQ’s drinking water supply is not totally dependent on rain.”
The Bundamba-Goodna and Bundamba-Swanbank pipelines are on target to be finished by August.
Ms Bligh said sophisticated micro-tunnelling and directional drilling would be used to minimise disruption to the community during construction of the pipelines.
“This will avoid any major effect on the local environment and minimise disruptions at road and railway crossings,” she said.
Media information: Deputy Premier’s Office, 3224 6900
Work on the 200km Western Corridor Recycled Water Project has opened on another front, with the first pipes of the Bundamba-to-Oxley section in the ground, Deputy Premier and Infrastructure Minister Anna Bligh announced today.
Ms Bligh, Federal Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd and Shadow Treasurer Wayne Swan today inspected construction on the Bundamba Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant component of the $9b SEQ Water Grid, the largest urban drought response in Australian history.
They met workers at the latest stage of the project, a 21.5km pipeline that will link wastewater treatment facilities at Goodna, Wacol and Oxley to the $400m plant being built at Bundamba.
Ms Bligh said Mr Rudd’s early commitment to the WCWRP emphasised how he understood the challenges faced by south east Queenslanders as they battled the drought.
“This is history in the making. Queenslanders are rolling up their sleeves and getting the job done. An army of almost 2000 workers across more than 30 sites are going at record pace to build the SEQ Water Grid,” she said.
“After Mr Rudd’s pledge to contribute $408m in February, it took another two months for the Prime Minister to wake up to what Queenslanders need and belatedly match that commitment.”
Ms Bligh also released the March monthly Queensland Water Commission report, which showed the WCRWP remains on track to be complete by the end of 2008. The report shows that all State Government timeframes remain as reported last month.
The report included for the first time the cost of boosting the connection between the Gold Coast desalination plant and the SEQ Water Grid.
Engineering evaluations have confirmed that an 8km stretch of pipeline between Helensvale and Molendinar, a pumping station and balance tank will need to be built to cope with the 125ML per day flow of drinking water from the plant. The $150 million upgrade was approved by the Government in March.
“We are now building a 125ML-a -day plant – more than double the size of the original proposal,” Ms Bligh said.
The QWC report also shows the effect of Level 4 water restrictions on the WCRWP. Inflows to the treatment plants have decreased as the community and business in SEQ have cut water consumption.
However, this is expected to return to normal as restrictions ease and will not significantly affect QWC projections that the Wivenhoe system will remain above 5% by the time purified and desalinated water is available in late 2008.
Ms Bligh said the WCRWP is a critical component of a project that guarantees water for SEQ regardless of whether or not we get rain.
“It is part of a complex infrastructure solution to insulate us from future drought and the effects of climate change,” she said.
“Along with the Gold Coast desalination plant, the Western Corridor project will mean SEQ’s drinking water supply is not totally dependent on rain.”
The Bundamba-Goodna and Bundamba-Swanbank pipelines are on target to be finished by August.
Ms Bligh said sophisticated micro-tunnelling and directional drilling would be used to minimise disruption to the community during construction of the pipelines.
“This will avoid any major effect on the local environment and minimise disruptions at road and railway crossings,” she said.
Media information: Deputy Premier’s Office, 3224 6900