West Camden Water Recycling Plant Upgrade

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 23 December 2022 until Tuesday 3 January 2023. 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!

Sydney Water is upgrading the West Camden Water Recycling Plant (WRP) to increase its treatment capacity.

Our team worked hard to adapt to the challenges and we thank you for your patience and support during this time. The project is 40% complete and we aim to have the new plant in operation by the end of 2023.

From Monday 5 December 2022 until Friday 30 June 2023, we will extend our work hours to allow extra time for concrete pours and reduce risk of heat stress to our workers in hot weather.

Our extended work hours will be from 5am to 6pm Monday to Friday. There will be no change to the Saturday work hours, which are 7am to 5pm.

We will not work on Sundays or Public Holidays.

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

Due to the heavy rain, we could not divert the pipes last week.

The new date for this night work is Monday 17 October 2022. We will start at 9pm and are planning to be finished by 6am Tuesday 18 October 2022 (weather permitting).

The diversion will involve saw cutting the existing pipe and putting in a temporary diversion while the upgrade takes place. These works need to be undertaken at night when flows are low so it will not impact ongoing operations of the plant.

You may experience:

• Noise: Our team will make every effort to limit the need for jackhammering where possible to minimise noise. In addition, we will have noise mitigation measures in place, such as fence panels.
• Light: we have installed lighting towers which will be positioned away from properties or impact drivers passing by the site.

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 know our work can be disruptive, so we’ll make every effort to reduce any impact this work may have on you.

We will temporarily extend our work hours for to allow our delivery partner Downer|BMD to complete these concrete works for Membrane Bioreactors (MBR).

The construction of the MBR slabs will be poured over five large pours, each pour requiring to be completed in a single shift. The concrete pours will be completed during the earlier hours however with cooler temperatures it will take longer for the concrete to dry and finishing works to be completed.

Our works hours for the concrete pour will be from 4am to midnight.

The concrete pours will be done on the following dates:

• Monday 17 October 2022
• Wednesday 26 October 2022
  
  

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

Our delivery partner Downer|BMD will be starting the task of concreting the Membrane Bioreactors (MBR). This will occur between 29 July and 31 October.

The construction of the MBR slabs will be poured over six large pours, each pour requiring to be completed in a single day. The concrete pours will be completed during our work hours however with cooler temperatures it will take longer for the concrete to dry. There is a possibility that the finishing works may not be completed within our work hours and will need to be carried out until 10pm.

Concrete finishing works will include approximately 10-15 people using helicopter machines (pictured below) and other hand tools to smooth and flat finish the concrete surfaces. Lighting towers will be used and will be positioned in such a way that artificial light will not impact surrounding residents.

Three concrete pours will happen on 2, 8 and 15 August, weather permitting. We will let you know when the last three pours will happen closer to date.

We know our work can be disruptive, so we’ll make every effort to reduce any impact this work may have on you.

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

Helicopter Machines

We will temporarily extend our work hours to allow our delivery partner Downer|BMD to import required material during low traffic movement periods.

During this period, there will be an increase in truck and dog trailers entering and exiting the access gate on Sheathers Lane, site entry 3. The trucks will be importing fill to the site required for construction.

Our extended work hours will be from 6am to 7pm Monday to Friday from Tuesday 5 July 2022 for 8 weeks, weather permitting. There will be no change to the Saturday work hours, which are 7am to 5pm.

We will not work on Sundays or Public Holidays.

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

To commemorate Environment Week at Sydney Water, the West Camden WRP team joined forces with our project delivery partner Downer|BMD to establish an area of Cumberland Plain Woodland (CPW) to supplement the surrounding communities.

Cumberland Plain Woodland is a critically endangered ecological community that was formerly widespread across Western Sydney. Urban development, infestation of weeds and inappropriate land management has reduced this previously expansive community to small fragments of less than 5 hectares. Less than 10% now remains and it continues to be threatened.

Protecting and establishing new areas of Cumberland Plain Woodland will provide vital support for native biodiversity and ecosystem services in the region, such as managing water tables and flows, soil nutrient cycling, reducing erosion and salinity, storing carbon, regulating local temperature and regulating insect pests.

Connecting remaining native vegetation areas is essential for animals that live or migrate through the region. Patches that are connected, or are close to each other, also help to ensure the future viability of the ecological community and other native vegetation, by providing pollination and dispersal of plant propagules.

In total the team planted 200 locally sourced CPW species at the previously disturbed area with remnant mature eucalypti trees.

The planting also ties into Camden Council’s Master Plan to enhance the area surrounding the West Camden Water Recycling Plant. A footpath and cycleway is being constructed by Council and the establishment of the Cumberland Plain Woodland will provide a visual screen for the community using the Council’s facilities and enable the community the opportunity to view native flora and fauna once the area is established.

With the recent rain events our delivery partner Downer|BMD will continue to work extended Saturday hours to meet critical milestones.

From Saturday 23 April 2022 our work hours on Saturdays will be 7am to 5pm until project completion in 2023. There will be no change to the hours Monday to Friday, which are 7am to 6pm.

We will not work on Sundays or Public Holidays.

We know our work can be disruptive, so we’ll make every effort to reduce any impact this work may have on you.

All sheds and equipment will be stored within the Sydney Water site’s fenced area, but you may notice an increase in noise, vehicle, and construction equipment movement around the work site.

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

Sydney Water and our project delivery partner Downer | BMD came together this week to participate in a traditional smoking ceremony to help mark the start of construction for the West Camden Water Recycling Plant (WRP)Upgrade works.

The smoking ceremony was performed by Uncle Daniel Chalker from Dharawal Country. It is traditionally held to acknowledge the ancestors and pay respect to the land and waters of country. It welcomes, cleanses and promotes the protection and wellbeing of visitors.

The area now known as Camden was originally at the northern edge of land belonging to the Gandangara people of the Southern Highlands, who called it Benkennie, meaning 'dry land'.

Sydney Water’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) reflects our commitment to integrate the reconciliation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples into our business. The smoking ceremony signals our recognition that we operate on the lands of Traditional Custodians. Our purpose to protecting waterways and the environment is consistent with the environmental stewardship the traditional owners have provided for thousands of years.

It was fantastic to be joined by so many attendees from our delivery partner, subcontractors, as well as Sydney Water staff. A special thank you to Member for Camden, Peter Sidgreaves MP for attending.