West Dapto Package 3 – Cleveland development area

We’re making strong progress across the project and are excited to share some key updates:

• Pipe Installation: So far, 7,900 metres of pipe have been installed – that’s 77% of the total pipeline work completed.

• Maintenance holes: We have constructed 52 maintenance holes, representing 60% of the overall total.

Lot A – New water main along Bong Bong Road

Work on installing a new water main is now more than halfway done. We’re on track to finish the main installation by the end of May, with the remaining connections to follow shortly after.

Lot B – Reed Park and Surrounding Areas

Restoration is now underway in Reed Park, with most of the major pipe laying in Lot B expected to be finished within the next few months, including at Mullet Creek (pictured). Tunnelling will continue across different areas of the project for approximately five more months. Once pipe laying wraps up, our attention will turn to finishing the remaining maintenance holes, completing tunnel connections and restoring areas impacted by our work.

Lot C – Gravity Main and Pumping station upgrade

• Gravity Main: The final maintenance holes are now being installed, with final pipe connections and restoration work to follow soon after.

• Pumping station upgrade: Work to upgrade the pumping station on the corner of Bridgewater Drive and Riverpark Way in Horsley is progressing well. The new switch room building is currently under construction and taking shape on site.

Thanks again to the community for your patience and understanding as we continue to make progress on this important project. More updates to come soon!

We hope you had a restful break over the December and January holiday period. Our crews are now back at work and ready to put their best boot forward to ensure smooth and efficient project delivery.

Project status

We are on track to complete our work in the Cleveland Development Area by August 2025. To start the year off, we have commenced our water main works in Bong Bong Road, where we plan to install 430 metres of new water mains. This work is planned to be completed in April 2025.

Our team have also started work in Reed Park now, to construct and install new wastewater mains and maintenance holes. While the park is still open for recreational use, we want to ensure that your safety is first and foremost while we are working. A reminder to please be mindful around our work site, and if your ball or any other item accidentally lands in our work area, please talk to one of our friendly crew members who will safely retrieve the item for you. If the work site is empty, please do not climb over the fence. Rather, give us a call on 1800 006 113 (select Option #8 when prompted), and we will arrange to return your belonging to you when we're back at work. Our work in Reed Park is planned to be completed by the end of March 2025.

We have ongoing work across the Cleveland Development Area which are continuing as normal, including our works at the pump station located at the corner of Fairwater Drive and Riverpark Way.

For the areas in which we have completed our work, temporary restorations have been put in place. Please be assured that permanent restoration of the affected areas will be done as part of the project, and will be returned back to pre-construction condition.

We look forward to keeping you up to date on our progress in 2025 as we continue to make headway on the new infrastructure servicing your community.

Shoutout to our incredible team on the West Dapto Package 3 project!

At around 5 pm on Tuesday, 12 November, our crew spotted smoke billowing across the road from Dapto High School. Without hesitation, they jumped into action, deploying three water carts and several team members to contain and extinguish the fire before it could spread.

When the local fire brigade arrived, they commended our crew for their swift response and valuable support. 👏🔥

Well done to everyone involved for stepping up and keeping the community safe!

Project status

Our team continues to kick goals with the work they are doing on site. To date, over five kilometres of new wastewater pipes have been installed, with almost one kilometre installed in the last month alone!

We've also started work in Reed Park. While the park is still open for recreational use, we strongly advise all Reed Park users to avoid our work areas. If, however, you're playing near our work site and your ball accidentally lands in our work area, please talk to one of our friendly crew members who will safely retrieve your ball. If the work site is empty, please do not climb over the fence. Rather, give us a call on 1800 006 113 (select Option #8 when prompted), and we will arrange to return your ball to you when we're back at work.

We have also started upgrading the pump station on the corner of Fairwater Drive and Riverpark Way. This upgrade is expected to take about 10 months, weather permitting.

This month we'll share some statistics on how we're progressing.

Currently, we have 6 pipe-laying crews working in the area. These crews install new wastewater pipes by digging a trench, laying the new pipe inside the trench and then filling it back up. Most new wastewater infrastructure is installed this way, and we're not only talking about rural areas, but also in busy urban centres like Sydney. These crews have, to date, completed 31% of the 7.8.km Lot B pipeline and 88% of the 1.2 km Lot C pipeline.

Alongside our pipe-laying crews is our microtunnelling crew. They're responsible for drilling under the hard to reach areas, such as installing new wastewater mains under creek beds or rivers and under the local rail line just to name a few. Before the drilling can begin, the crews need to dig two very deep shafts - one shaft will be used to launch the drilling machine underground and the other will receive the machine once it's finished drilling. This crew has constructed 9 of the 22 shafts that they require. These shafts, as can be seen in the picture, are very deep. Our deepest is 8.6 metres deep and it took our crews 12 days to build.

This month will also see the start of our water main construction on Bong Bong Road. We'll update you on our progress statistics in the coming months.

And, once again, we'd like to thank the local community for their patience and support as we expand the local wastewater network to support growth in the area.

We’re making steady progress in building infrastructure to support the growth of our rural communities.

Although we’ve experienced some delays – mostly due to wet weather and the resulting impact of groundwater – we’ve now laid over 33,000 metres of pipe, and foundational construction has commenced on 17 new maintenance holes in the area.

We’re now underway in installing the rising wastewater main pipeline in Lot C of our plan, along Fairwater Drive up to Bong Bong Road. This is open-trench work and will have some temporary impacts to the roadway and traffic in the area.

We’ve started work on the new drinking water main on the Southern end of Cleveland Drive and are about to start another section at Fairwater Drive near the Fowlers Road intersection. The new pipeline’s is being installed by a process called micro-tunnelling, whereby a remotely controlled excavation drill is placed belowground to work on tunnelling the new pipe’s placement, while the aboveground roadway remains intact.

In addition to the above, October will amplify our progress even further, when we begin construction on the 365 metres drinking water main pipeline at Lot A1 on Bong Bong Road.

There’s still a way to go and the many sections we’re working on concurrently, along with the construction of other services can look a bit daunting. We’re committed to our purpose of improving the liveability of the West Dapto and are mindful of the impact our work can have to get to the end goal. For this reason, we’d like to extend a big thank you to the community for your patience and understanding so far.

Working safely around water bodies

Installing new infrastructure in rural areas comes with its own unique environmental challenges, one of which is how to navigate our work around the lifeblood of rural communities - water!

At West Dapto Package 3, we're installing over 10 kms of new wastewater pipes so it's inevitable that our alignment crosses various water bodies, including creeks and dams.

For creek crossings, our team has modified their construction methodology to ensure we tunnel under creeks. But for smaller bodies of water, where tunnelling is not a viable option, we need to trench through them.

Our crews are currently trenching through a small creek with great success. This success can be attributed to the planning and preparation that we do prior to working on or near waterways.

When installing new Sydney Water infrastructure, it is essential rural water bodies remain in-tact and are not permanently impacted by our work. And the way we do this is to: DAM, DE-WATER & DE-FISH, PUMP AROUND.

DAM - Step 1 is to create a dam to stop water entering our future construction area.

DE-WATER & DE-FISH - Step 2 is to remove water and call the ecologist to safely remove the fish. We have found some lovely freshwater fish, such as the native Striped Gudgeon. Once safely removed, we can commence working.

PUMP AROUND - Once work has commenced, it is essential we have pumps in place to continually move clean water around our work site. Our teams regularly check these pumps are working and that the water remains clear. In the event of heavy rainfall, and this year has been particularly wet, we ensure our work areas are covered to avoid sediment seeping into the water course.

As soon as our work is done, our crews meticulously re-instate the area to ensure ground levels match pre-construction levels and the flow path of the water body is stabilised.

Protecting rural waterways is essential, even as we make modern advancements. They support wildlife, provide clean water, and are vital for communities. Preserving them ensures a healthy environment for future generations.

Work has commenced to connect the new wastewater main drilled underground between Fairwater Drive and Galway Court in Horsley to the existing wastewater system.

This connection will occur on Bong Bong Road so please be mindful of changed traffic and pedestrian conditions in this area.

Work on Riverpark Way and Bridgewater Drive is continuing. We thank residents impacted by this work for their patience.

Work on the Lot B gravity wastewater main, which is nearly 8 kms long, continues near Darkes Road.

For any queries regarding our work, please don’t forget to reach out to the team on 1800 006 113 (select option 8 when prompted) or email delivering4customers@sydneywater.com.au.

Our crews are working on multiple fronts this month.

Although the wet weather slowed our progress, we're continuing to install the Lot B and Lot C pipelines as well as continuing to tidy up and repair work areas impacted by rain.

Trenching has begun at Riverpark Way, with changed traffic conditions in place. Please follow all temporary roadsigns to ensure safe vehicle and pedestrian traffic through the area. We'd like to thank local residents for not parking their vehicles along Riverpark Way and Bridgewater Drive during this time.

We'd also like to share with you some of the photos we took during the stringing of the pipe and pulling it through the tunnel from Fairwater Drive / Boddington Way all the way to Galston Court.

What a great effort!

The above shows how we joined the pipes into one long string ready to be pulled up Selwyn Grove

This shows the pipe string pulled up Selwyn Grove and into the tunnel entrance at the corner of Fairwater Drive and Boddington Way

The first picture shows the pipe being inserted at Fairwater Drive/Boddington Way and coming out at Galway Court (second picture).

Fairwater Drive to Galway Court

A big thank you to the community around Selwyn Grove, Bridgewater Drive, Boddington Way and Galway Court for their understanding and patience during a long day of work stringing the new wastewater pipeline.

Our crews were up before sunrise on Tuesday, 14 May 2024, pulling the 450 metre pipe along Selwyn Grove before inserting it into the drill pit at the corner of Fairwater Drive and Boddington Way. Once inserted, the pipe was pushed underground and re-surfaced at Galway Court.

This picture shows just how long the pipe was. Well done to the team for their mammoth effort and we extend our heartfelt appreciation for the invaluable support we have received from the Horsley community.

With the pipe stringing complete, the drilling team will soon dismantle their site compound at the corner of Fairwater Drive and Boddington Way. However, our work continues at Galway Court, where our crews will shortly commence the installation of the pipeline towards Bong Bong Road.

Progress update

Unfortunately, the recent wet weather is impacting our progress in Dapto and Horsley. We are gearing up to start installing a new gravity wastewater pipeline near Darkes Road (Lot B) and along Riverpark Way (Lot C2). Work is also underway to repair damage to our access tracks that has occurred following recent rains.

If you have any questions or require further information, don’t forget to reach out by emailing Delivering4Customers@sydneywater.com.au or calling 1800 006 113 (select option 8).

Construction is underway in Horsley

To date, we have laid over 200 metres of pipe for the new wastewater gravity main (Lot C2)

The pilot drill (pictured) for the wastewater pressure main (Lot C3) is now finished. Next, we will drill to enlarge this hole before we can pull through the new pipe.

The drill rig is now at Galway Court ready to continue hole enlargement and pull the new pipe through from Fairwater Drive. You may notice some noise and extra work vehicles in the area during this time.

We’re set up at the corner of Fairwater Drive and Fowlers Road, laying pipe for the wastewater gravity main (Lot B)

Construction in Dapto

In mid-April we will have a crew starting on Darkes Road, preparing to install the new gravity wastewater main (Lot B)

Preparations underway

We are also gearing up to start installing the new gravity wastewater mains, starting at Darkes Road (Lot B) and along Riverpark Way (Lot C2). You may see us in these areas locating existing services as we prepare for construction.

And remember, email Delivering4Customers@sydneywater.com.au or call 1800 006 113 (select option 8) if have any questions or require further information.