With the growing focus on improving long-term water security and availability across Queensland, the delivery of quality infrastructure projects has never been more important.
Ensuring that these projects are implemented to the highest standard requires a coordinated approach, with technical specialists and mature industry experience essential to achieve desired outcomes.
Regional Queensland’s biggest bulk water supplier, Sunwater, is actively expanding its capability to deliver a significant program of critical water infrastructure projects.
In meeting its purpose of delivering water for prosperity, Sunwater has broadened its remit from an operate and maintain business to being an infrastructure business that delivers water.
By its very nature as an owner operator of large dams, industrial water pipelines and irrigation schemes, Sunwater requires the capacity to develop, plan, design and deliver significant, complex bulk water infrastructure projects.
By increasing business capability and capacity to successfully plan, design, construct and commission quality bulk water infrastructure, creating regional jobs and helping drive economic growth, Sunwater is focused on its role as a water industry leader.
A long-term strategy
Responsible for providing around 40 per cent of all water used commercially in Queensland, Sunwater has expanded in-house skill across operations, engineering and water resources and infrastructure development, to meet growing needs in water infrastructure.
But, with a predicted increase in demand for engineering and professional services across Queensland and Australia, Sunwater is now taking a long-term approach to building its internal capacity.
Sunwater Chief Executive Officer, Glenn Stockton, said that for Sunwater to deliver its significant program of work, an integrated approach with top-tier industry expertise is required.
“Sunwater has a strong pipeline of work in the years ahead,” he said, “We recently completed construction of Rookwood Weir near Rockhampton, and are now focused on other forecast improvement works across our dam portfolio,” Mr Stockton said.
“We are delivering the Paradise Dam Improvement Project, for which we have appointed alliance partners – a consortium between CPB Contractors and Georgiou, and design firm GHD. We will also soon tender for detailed design of the Burdekin Falls Dam Raising and Improvement Project.
“All this work requires an additional depth of expertise and experience to complement our existing capacity.
“Planning for and delivering these projects to ensure the right asset is built means looking to the broader industry for support in the Queensland market, engaging leaders in the field of dam engineering and engaging with overseas firms who can bring proven contemporary global experience to the Australian market.”
Harnessing global expertise
As part of this new approach, Sunwater has entered two arrangements that strengthens its position as an experienced and reliable water infrastructure business.
Firstly, Sunwater has partnered with a joint venture between AECOM and Jacobs to provide access to a broad range of
engineering capability to support its work and build internal proficiency.
Through the collaboration, Sunwater and its customers will benefit from increased efficiencies, improved engineering outcomes and knowledge sharing, economies of scale and new career path opportunities.
“Historically, we have procured engineering and professional services on an as-needs basis through panel arrangements,” Mr Stockton said.
“With the significant increase in major infrastructure investment over the coming years, an alternate approach that builds both Sunwater’s and our partners capability and capacity over time was required.
“The long-term partnership with the JV, enables Sunwater to access a broad range of engineering capability and will include a core team co-located in our offices.”
Sunwater has also contracted international engineering, geoscience, and environmental consulting firm, Klohn Crippen Berger (KCB Australia Pty Ltd) for project engineering support services.
KCB Australia, which has a presence in Canada, the United States, United Kingdom, Peru, and Brazil, will provide specialist technical dam engineering expertise, working with Sunwater’s hydrological, geotechnical, civil, dam safety, instrumentation, and operations teams.
Sunwater’s Chief Development Officer, Mal Shepherd, said that KCB Australia will bolster the business’s capacity at key project stages.
“The addition of KCB engineering personnel to Sunwater’s Infrastructure Development and Delivery function, will allow us to flex to meet the needs of different project stages whilst developing and delivering these major projects,” Mr Shepherd said.
“Queensland has an emergent dam design and construction industry which creates a platform to grow the dam industry and provide career opportunities for people.
“As an extension to Sunwater’s owner role across its major projects, this project engineering support service will assist with the development of construction methodologies, support the technical review of third-party designs and the resolution of technical queries, provide advice on dam safety construction impacts, and perform on-site construction surveillance.
“Excitingly, this seven-to-eight-year partnership is the first time Sunwater has awarded such a support service contract.”
KCB Australia will undertake independent technical reviews, predominantly for the Paradise Dam Improvement Project detailed design and the Burdekin Falls Dam Raising and Improvement Project preliminary planning. This will help ensure that Sunwater is taking a best practice approach to work packages.
Contributing to these projects will be one of the largest packages of work for KCB since entering the Australian market in 1993.
Where previously external engineering support was procured on a short-term basis as required, these arrangements will provide opportunity for Sunwater to improve long-term, integrated technical planning capabilities.
It will also allow for a degree of flexibility that would be otherwise difficult to achieve in the current employment market.
The partnerships will strengthen Sunwater’s capacity to deliver high-quality water infrastructure improvements, which will enhance water availability for urban, industrial and irrigation customers across regional Queensland.
Featured image: as part of the The Mareeba-Dimbulah Water Supply Scheme Efficiency Project, Sunwater replaced 14km of pipeline. Image: Sunwater.
