Hunter Water will begin 2026 with the next and most complex steps of its Belmont Desalination Plant project aimed at securing water supply for the Lower Hunter region.
The $530 million project when complete in 2028 aims to supply up to 30 megalitres of drinking water per day, about 15 per cent of the Lower Hunter’s average daily demand.
Shortly before Christmas, the project’s jack-up barge work platform arrived offshore and was positioned approximately 800 metres off Nine Mile Beach and the Belmont Desalination Plant site.
The work platform will allow marine works and tunnelling phase of the project to begin.
Offshore construction will include installing the direct ocean intake structure and tunnelling a pipeline beneath the seabed to deliver seawater to the onshore treatment facility.
Hunter Water’s Acting Chief Executive Officer, Jennifer Hayes said this step was a milestone for the project.
“Now that the jack-up barge is in place, we’re progressing into the most complex and technical phase of the marine and tunnelling works, crucial to delivering a reliable, rainfall-independent drinking water source for our community.
“Working closely with our delivery partner John Holland, we’re committed to completing this work safely, with minimal disruption to beach users and marine life. We’ve been engaging with boating, recreation and coastal user groups, and will continue to keep the community informed about offshore activities, including exclusion zones and vessel movements,” Hayes said.
The project aims to diversify the region’s water sources and reduce reliance on dams and rainfall, as a form of drought protection and meeting climate variability.
The works will include using the jack up barge to establish its pile anchored platform and installing the direct ocean intake structure using precast caissons, set into the seabed.
The next step will preparing equipment onshore to construct a tunnel beneath Nine Mile Beach and the seabed, linking the intake structure to the desalination plant.
“We selected Belmont as the site for the desalination plant because it offers the best integration with the existing water network and proximity to the ocean, as well as being a site Hunter Water already owned that will cause minimal impacts on the local community and surrounding environment,” Hayes said
“The marine and tunnelling works are designed to minimise impact to the environment. The intake structure has a low velocity design ensuring sea creatures avoid being drawn into the system, while the brine left from the seawater desalination process will be returned to the sea via the existing ocean outfall at the nearby wastewater treatment works.”
