Upper South Creek Advanced Water Recycling Centre

Sydney Water hosted a community drop-in information session on Saturday, 6 May 2023 at the Bringelly Community Centre to give the community an opportunity to learn more about the AWRC and other projects in the area.

Representatives were available to provide information and answer questions about projects in the Wester Sydney Aerotropolis and Mamre Road precinct areas including:

• Sydney Water
• Office of the Independent Community Commissioner
• Western Parkland City Authority
• Sydney Metro (Western Sydney Airport)
• Transport for NSW
• Department of Planning and Environment
• Office of Strategic Lands (OSL)
• Western Sydney Airport
• Penrith City Council
• Liverpool City Council
• Utilities (Endeavour Energy and Jemena)

Sydney Water has awarded a contract to build one of the most advanced wastewater recycling facilities in the southern hemisphere, in Western Sydney.

The contract to construct and operate the Upper South Creek Advanced Water Recycling Plant (AWRC) has been awarded to a consortium of John Holland, TRILITY, GHD and Jacobs.

Operating at full capacity, the facility will treat around 70 megalitres of wastewater each day and produce high-quality treated water for sustainable use in homes and businesses across western Sydney, and biosolid products for use in agriculture.

Sydney Water Managing Director, Roch Cheroux said the plant is an important piece of infrastructure for the region and will leave a positive legacy for the communities of Sydney.

“AWRC will produce high-quality water suitable for a wide range of non-drinking uses for homes, businesses, industrial sites, agriculture and for the watering of public open spaces,” Mr Cheroux said.

The world-class leading facility will be located between Kemps and South Creek and service the Aerotropolis and Western Parkland City.

John Holland will be responsible for the design and construction. GHD and Jacobs will provide engineering and design services, while Trility will provide operations and maintenance advice as the project is delivered.

In a joint venture with John Holland, Trility will be responsible for the operations and maintenance of the facility for up to a 10-year period once completed.

John Holland’s General Manager of Water and Optimisation, Margaret Riley said she’s thrilled to continue a long-term collaboration with Sydney Water alongside partners Trility, GHD and Jacobs.

“It’s exciting to launch a project with such industry leading circular economy ambitions and Sydney Water is to be congratulated on its vision,” Ms Riley said.

TRILITY’s Managing Director, Francois Gouws, echoes the sentiments of its joint venture partner.

“It’s a real privilege to be working in collaboration with Sydney Water and alongside our partners John Holland, GHD, and Jacobs on such an exciting project, and one with motivations to drive innovation and a circular economy,” said Mr Gouws.

The Upper South Creek Advanced Water Recycling plant is due to be operational in 2026.

Survey and ground investigations in your area from November 2022

Sydney Water is planning to construct the Upper South Creek Advanced Water Recycling Centre (AWRC) in Kemps Creek and associated pipelines to support predicted population and economic growth in Western Sydney, including designated growth areas known as South West Growth Area and Western Sydney Aerotropolis Growth Area.

We need to survey the land, locate underground services and confirm ground conditions to inform the detailed design of the project. Our investigations will happen at the AWRC site off Clifton Avenue in Kemps Creek and along two pipeline corridors, from Kemps Creek to Wallacia in the west and from Kemps Creek to Lansdowne in the east.

From November 2022 until early 2023, you may see us working in public spaces like footpaths, parks and road reserves. Our work hours are 7 am to 6 pm Monday to Friday and 8 am to 1 pm on Saturdays. We will not work on public holidays.

We will also need to enter a small number of private properties to complete our investigations. Our delivery partner, John Holland Group, will contact directly affected landowners and residents at least 14 days before work needs to happen on private property. We will work with you to confirm access arrangements and suitable times.

To reduce traffic disruption and to ensure the safety of our workers and the community, we may need to work in some busy roads at night for short periods. We will provide advanced notice to nearby residents and will explain how we will reduce impacts from our work.

To know more, please email us at uppersouthcreek@sydneywater.com.au or call our friendly community relations team on 1800 064 127.

Thank you for your understanding during this work.

An Amendment Report to Sydney Water’s Upper South Creek AWRC Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is going on public exhibition on the NSW Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) website from Wednesday, 23 March until Tuesday, 5 April.

The Amendment Report reflects seven minor amendments to the project that were made based on feedback from partners and stakeholders. They include minor realignments of the treated water and brine pipelines, and a change to the AWRC site boundary.

DPE will consider any submissions received about the Amendment Report when making a decision about the project.

Please note, Sydney Water’s Amendment Report is not a response to EIS submissions. A separate Submissions Report is currently being prepared by Sydney Water to address submissions received during last year’s EIS exhibition period.

All Upper South Creek AWRC EIS documents are still available at the Upper South Creek Planning Portal page if you wish to review them.

To support the exhibition of the Upper South Creek and AWRC Environmental Impact Statement, Sydney Water has developed a brochure that summarises the EIS.

We have also translated the brochure into Arabic, Simplified Chinese and Vietnamese.

The CALD versions are available to download on Sydney Water Talk

• Read the brochure in Arabic here
• Read the brochure in Simplified Chinese here
• Read the brochure in Vietnamese here

NSW Department of Industry, Planning and Environment (DPIE) is currently exhibiting the Upper South Creek and AWRC Environmental Impact Statement for public comment. The EIS assesses the project’s impacts and outlines how they will be managed.

Sydney Water has developed a brochure that summarises the EIS. You can read it here.

Sydney Water held three culturally and linguistically diverse online community information sessions to allow members of the community to get an update on the project, ask questions, and tell us what they thought about the project.

The three online sessions were held in Arabic, Vietnamese and Chinese.

Details of these sessions:

• Arabic: Friday, 16 July
• Vietnamese: Friday, 23 July
• Chinese: Saturday, 24 July