A Canberra suburb and Icon water have worked together to develop a new ‘best for region’ approach to sewage treatment infrastructure.
Over the past few years, Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council (QPRC) and Icon Water have partnered to explore a regional sewage treatment plant to replace the Queanbeyan sewage treatment plant and the Fyshwick sewage treatment plant situated on Dairy Road.
Seen as a 1-in-100-year opportunity, Icon Water and QPRC sought to understand whether a regional plant is better for their customers than standalone plants.
Icon Water Managing Director, John Knox, said, “The technical and commercial analysis has determined that a regional plant would not be the best solution over standalone treatment plants.”
“Although this opportunity has not materialised as the best option for our customers, the process has been highly beneficial.
“Icon Water and QPRC have developed a strong partnership and we have laid the groundwork so we are well placed to explore future borderless opportunities together.”
QPRC Chief Executive Officer, Peter Tegart, thanked Icon Water for its collaboration in the project to this point and said the project would now progress through the next stages of its development as a 60,000EP standalone plant for Queanbeyan.
“Through this process we have built a strong working relationship with Icon Water which we will continue to build on. Icon Water’s involvement has helped us examine the possibilities and the conclusion that we have now reached to push forward with a facility that services Queanbeyan only,” Mr Tegart said.
“Importantly, this decision provides us with clarity as we move closer to the design phase.”
“The call for design, communications and project management tenders took into account the standalone and best-for-region options.”
QPRC will continue to independently progress the upgrade of the plant with the next step involving the assessment of design and project management tenders with a view to awarding contracts later in 2018. The new facility is expected to be in operation by 2024.
