Richmond System Wastewater Upgrade

The Richmond Water Recycling Plant (WRP) and the North Richmond Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) currently service two independent systems separated by the Hawkesbury River.

Both plants and their systems will have capacity limitations in the near future as the population growth in the Richmond and Upper Hawkesbury area is projected to increase by 70% over the next 30 years.

Sydney Water is planning to upgrade its wastewater infrastructure in North Richmond and Richmond to meet the needs of Richmond’s growing population, meet current regulatory requirements and provide sufficient flexibility to meet more stringent regulatory requirements in the future.

As part of this upgrade, we will

• upgrade the local sewers in the North Richmond Catchment
• build a new pumping station at North Richmond and upgrade two existing pumping stations in Richmond
• build a 6.9 km long transfer pipeline connecting the North Richmond system to the Richmond Water Recycling Plant.
• upgrade the Richmond WRP to receive additional flows from the North Richmond Catchment and to meet future growth.

The upgrade will increase the combined plant capacity by 80% and at the same time will ensure Sydney Water meets its EPA license requirements.