West Camden Water Recycling Plant Upgrade

It’s been nine months since the West Camden Water Recycling Plant Upgrade project team and the local community planted over 3,000 native trees at Elizabeth Macarthur Reserve as part of our biodiversity offset.

This ongoing bushland restoration project was a collaboration with Camden Council and our delivery partners BMD and Downer.

The area is slowly establishing itself and the project is proud to leave a legacy behind.

Check out our video:

Our delivery partner Downer I BMD will be working extended work hours to deliver critical concrete pours. Our work hours on Saturdays will be from 5am to 8pm until the end of June 2024, weather permitting. Lighting towers will be used and positioned facing away from properties to reduce impact to surrounding residents.

Weir installation work will continue. This work will take place at night when wastewater flows are low so it does not impact current operations. The extended work hours for this work will be from 6pm to 7am during April 2024, weather permitting.

Extended work hours to carry out inspections and upgrade of the Chlorine Contact Tank will occur from 4am to 7am until mid-May 2024, weather permitting.

If you would like to know more, please contact our community engagement team on WestCamdenWRP@sydneywater.com.au

Our delivery partner Downer I BMD will be working overnight to demobilise the 100 tonne crane from site. We are required to transport oversize and overmass vehicle at night to comply with TfNSW regulations.

Noisier work will be completed before midnight. Lighting towers will be used and will be positioned in such a way that artificial light will not impact surrounding residents.

These overnight hours will be from 9pm to 7am Monday 19 February to Saturday 2 March 2024, weather permitting.

We will also be installing and testing equipment in our Chlorine Contact Tank and work will continue on the Weir installation in the coming weeks. This work will be undertaken at night when wastewater flows are low to minimise impact on current operations.

The extended work hours will occur from 12am to 6am over various shifts from 19 February to end March 2024, weather permitting.

If you would like to know more, please contact our community engagement team on WestCamdenWRP@sydneywater.com.au.

Our construction team will be taking a well earned break over the Christmas and New Year period with no works being carried out from Friday 22 December 2023 until Tuesday 2 January 2024. The existing treatment plant will operate as usual during this period.

From the Sydney Water and Downer BMD team, we wish you a joyous and happy holiday season, as well as the very best wishes for Christmas and new year!

Downer | BMD will be working extended hours until April 2024.

Application of protective coating to the tank structures is currently being completed during night shifts as lower temperatures enable the concrete surface to achieve a good quality finish. We have extended our work hours from Monday to Friday from 6pm to midnight, Saturdays from 5pm to midnight and Sundays from 2pm to midnight until 18 December 2023.

Early concrete pours will start Monday 4 December until April 2024, weather permitting. The extended work hours will be from 4am to allow for pours in cooler temperatures.

The earthworks to remove stockpiles off site will start Monday 4 December until mid-December 2023 for load out from 6am, weather permitting.

Weir installation needs to be undertaken at night when wastewater flows are low so it will not impact current operations. The extended work hours for the weir installation will occur from 1.30am to 6am over four shifts in December 2023 (if possible) or January 2024, weather permitting.

We know our work can be disruptive, so we’ll make every effort to reduce any impact this work may have on you. Lighting towers will be used and will be positioned in such a way that light will not impact surrounding residents.

If you would like to know more, please contact our community engagement team on WestCamdenWRP@sydneywater.com.au.

On Wednesday 23 August things were flying high at the West Camden Water Recycling Plant, namely the fixed lid that sits atop the plant's newest Digester.

A crowd of onlookers gathered around to watch as the 13m diameter lid which weighs 22.5 tonne lifted into position.

The lid was pre-fabricated off site using a variety of mild steel components and brought to the West Camden site in two pieces, due to its oversized dimensions. It was then placed on purpose built trestles, where it was aligned and levelled, ready for lifting onto the newly constructed 10m high Digester (concrete tank).

Before it was lifted, handrails were installed around the lid and the team from Hydroflux Epco and Nepean Engineering & Innovation spent three weeks completing the welding, grit blasting and painting activities to join the two pieces together. The remaining fixtures were then installed atop the lid before it was lifted into position.

After many quality checks, risk assessments, and approvals, the team from WGC Cranes used their 160 tonne crane to lift the lid into position with millimetre precision.

Passers-by during the lift could have easily mistaken the lid for another type of flying object (maybe if it was at night with lights on). Whilst the lid is in position, the arduous task of drilling 180 holes 270mm deep into the concrete structure to secure it in place now begins.

Established in 1996, National Tree Day has grown into Australia's largest community tree-planting and nature care event. The program is a call to action for all Australians to get their hands dirty and give back to their community.

On Sunday 30 July we partnered with our delivery contractor Downer|BMD, Camden Council and the local community to plant a total of 3,000 native plants at Elizabeth Macarthur Reserve.

The sunny winter morning was perfect for the 160 community volunteers and project representatives that came to the tree planting event to support the reinstatement of native tree species intended to stabilise the banks of the waterway and prevent erosion.

The existing vegetation at the site consisted of exotic and weed species. Our restoration works resulted in the removal of these weeds, replacing them with 3,000 native species from the River Flat Eucalypt Forest plant community.

Project works include:

• planting of 3,000 native species from the River Flat Eucalypt Forest species palette as part of National Tree Day
• woody weed removal with material mulched onsite; Site preparation to get the area ready for planting
• installation and maintenance of erosion control measures
• maintenance and watering to ensure successful establishment of the plants.

We will be working overnight to allow our delivery partner Downer|BMD to start building the Blower Switch Room at the WRP.

As part of the upgrade, we need to extend our work hours to complete steel fixing and formwork activities. The work will be carried out over specific nights only and will not be performed greater than two consecutive nights. This work will be completed between 11 April and 30 June 2023 from 6pm to 7am, weather permitting.

We will be updating this article as dates become available on night works.

Our standard working hours will not change. We will continue to work Monday to Friday from 7am to 6pm and Saturdays from 7am to 5pm. We will not work on Sundays or Public Holidays.

We will make every effort to reduce any impact this work may have on you.

This week we celebrated Harmony Day at West Camden WRP with our team from Downer|BMD. Harmony Day is a time for everyone to celebrate the enormous benefits of multiculturalism. The day recognises the importance of cultural respect, participation, and inclusiveness for everyone who calls Australia home.

During our celebrations we took the opportunity to ask our 110 employees and subcontractors on site that day a bit about their background and heritage.

Here’s what we found out:

• 38% were born in Australia, 26% in Ireland, 16% in Mongolia and 22% in other countries.
• There are 27 different nationalities with Irish and Mongolian ranking two of the highest.
• Our team speaks 18 different languages other than English.

The ‘loss of hollow-bearing trees’ is a key threat listed under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 with approximately 20% of native fauna species relying on tree hollows for roosting, nesting and breeding.

Earlier this month, ecologists installed 10 nest boxes into mature Eucalyptus moluccana (Grey Box) and Eucalyptus tereticornis (Forest Red Gum) trees at the West Camden WRP. The nest boxes were made from salvaged hollows from three hollow bearing trees that were felled earlier in the project.

The nest boxes were attached to trees using the Habisure System, using appropriate material that does not damage the recipient tree. A soft plastic-coated wire with a coil or spring and hosepipe is used to secure the hollow to the tree to allow the tree to grow unimpeded.

Having natural variation in hollow sizes and shapes, and with their positioning in different trees we will create a habitat for a range of native fauna including small parrots, microbats and other hollow-dwelling mammals.

The Environmental team will eagerly monitor the hollows as the project continues.