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Groundwater Replenishment Scheme Stage 2 Expansion

Expanding the Groundwater Replenishment Scheme to double recharge capacity.

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Project goal:

Expand the Groundwater Replenishment Scheme to double recharge capacity to 28 billion litres of water per year

Status:

In construction

Delivery Date:

End 2019

What's happening?

Following the successful Groundwater Replenishment Trial, Stage 1 of Perth's first full-scale Groundwater Replenishment Scheme began recharging at our facility in Craigie in late-2017.

This first stage has the capacity to recharge 14 billion litres of recycled water into groundwater supplies each year.

Construction of Stage 2 of the Scheme also began in late-2017, following receipt of environmental approvals. Stage 2 work includes:

• duplication of the Advanced Water Recycling Plant in Craigie
• four recharge and four monitoring bores across two offsite recharge locations in Wanneroo and Neerabup
• a 13km recharge pipeline connecting the Advanced Water Recycling Plant with the bores.

When Stage 2 is complete in 2019, the Groundwater Replenishment Scheme will have the capacity to recharge 28 billion litres of water each year, providing a new climate independent water source to boost much needed drinking water supplies in Perth.

Find out more about groundwater replenishment process.

Advanced Water Recycling Plant

Construction of the second Advanced Water Recycling Plant began in late-2017. The second plant will be located next to the original plant and when complete, the two will share some infrastructure, including two new 13.7 megalitre tanks that will transfer secondary treated wastewater from the neighbouring Beenyup Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Construction is expected to be complete in 2019, followed by commissioning, testing and validation. Recharge under Stage 2 of the Groundwater Replenishment Scheme is expected to begin in late-2019.

Recharge bore sites

Water from Stage 2 of the Groundwater Replenishment Scheme will be recharged into the confined Leederville and Yarragadee aquifers via two recharge sites located north-east of the Advanced Water Recycling Plant, in Wanneroo and Neerabup.

The bores have been constructed and work has begun with the installation of above-ground bore infrastructure, including a recycled water tank and a pump and electrical building at each site.These works are planned for completion by April 2019.

The Wanneroo site is located within an existing cleared area in the pine plantation off Ashley Road and Wanneroo Road. Drilling of these bores began in late-2017 and was undertaken in stages, finishing in October 2018.

The Neerabup site is located within land owned by Water Corporation off Wanneroo Road. Drilling of these bores began in mid-2018 and was also undertaken in stages, finishing in November 2018.

Recharge pipeline

Find out about the latest updates on work underway in Wanneroo - east of Lake Joondalup and Woodvale.

Find out about construction work underway at Beenyup Swamp, Woodvale.

A 13km recharge pipeline will transfer the highly treated, drinking quality recycled water from the Advanced Water Recycling Plant in Craigie to the offsite recharge bores.

The pipeline is being constructed in sections using different construction techniques. The first two sections of pipeline, installed using trenchless technology (horizontal direction drilling), was completed in the second half of 2018 and were located beneath banksia woodlands in Wanneroo and Perry’s Paddock, Beenyup Swamp and Studmaster Park in Woodvale and Wanneroo. This construction technique was selected to reduce the impact on these environmentally-sensitive areas.

The remaining sections of pipeline are being installed through Neerabup and Woodvale using open trench construction techniques, beneath the Mitchell Freeway to the Advanced Water Recycling Plant using trenchless technology (micro-tunnelling). These sections are expected to be completed by early 2019.
Future sections of the pipeline include crossing beneath Joondalup Drive, which will be managed by Main Roads WA as part of its Joondalup Drive and Wanneroo Road intersection upgrade work, and along the eastern side of Lake Joondalup in Wanneroo following the Rainbow Bee Eater nesting season.

Below is a map depicting the pipeline route and recharge bore sites.

redline Pipeline route  Recharge site Beenyup site  Beenyup site Recharge site  

Contact us

Please email groundwater.replenishment@watercorporation.com.au if you would like more information about the project.

Why is this work taking place?

As Perth continues to experience the impacts of climate change, the decision was made in July 2016 to expand our Groundwater Replenishment Scheme.
This will provide better certainty for Perth's water supplies, seeing the Scheme's capacity increase from 14 billion litres per year to 28 billion litres a year.
We worked closely with the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation to identify locations suitable to recharge this recycled water, with the final sites selected at the pine plantation in Wanneroo and at a site further north in Neerabup.

How were the recharge sites selected?

The recharge sites were located in consultation with the Department of Water and Environment Regulation following studies undertaken by the Department.

How was the pipeline route selected?

As the pipeline is being constructed to transfer water from the Advanced Water Recycling Plant in Craigie to the two offsite recharge sites in Wanneroo and Neerabup, its ideal route is along the eastern side of Lake Joondalup. The final pipeline route was selected in consultation with other government departments, taking into account impacts to the community and the environment, safety, constructability and cost.

What work is involved at the recharge bore sites?

Two recharge bores and two monitoring bores have been constructed and tested at each recharge site. The work included site preparation and geotechnical surveys, drilling and casing to depths of up to 1400 metres. Installation of the aboveground bore infrastructure will include a recharge pump building, a switch room building, a balance tank, a high voltage metering unit, switchgear and transformers, and an emergency overflow sump.

What work is involved for the recharge pipeline?

The majority of the pipeline is being constructed using open trenching techniques, which involves excavating a trench and laying lengths of pipe up to 2m below the surface, backfilling the excavation and then reinstating the surface including roads and parklands.

How will the work impact the community?

Construction work can have local noise impacts. Before beginning work, we establish baseline noise levels in the area and continue to monitor noise levels during the work to check that the noise generated from the works are within allowable limits. We also mitigate noise impacts with the use of noise blankets and barriers were possible.

When working at night we aim to position any lights away from neighbouring properties. As there will be increased traffic in the area from the work, we also put in place traffic management to ensure vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists can move around the work areas safely.

We will generally maintain access to nearby properties. If there are minor access delays, we will notify you beforehand.

How is this work being communicated to local residents?

We notify the local community about upcoming work via letters or notifications in the letterbox and public notices in the local newspaper. We also keep the project website up-to-date and provide contact details so members of the community can request more information from us.


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