Kempsey Shire Council has awarded a $51.28 million design and construction contract to Haslin Constructions for a new wastewater treatment plant at Stuarts Point on the NSW mid north coast, the anchor asset in a scheme that will sewer three Lower Macleay villages for the first time.
The council accepted the tender at its June ordinary meeting, Infrastructure Magazine reported. The plant is one part of the wider Stuarts Point Sewerage Scheme, which also covers Fishermans Reach and Grassy Head, and it’s jointly funded by the Federal Government’s Housing Support Program, the NSW Government’s Safe and Secure Water Program and the council itself.
Right now those three communities use on-site septic systems. The scheme replaces them with a pressure sewer network feeding the new treatment plant.
Septics out, pressure sewer in
That swap is the whole point of the job, and it’s the bit that matters most to anyone who works on the tools out there.
Kempsey Shire Council Director Utilities Wes Trotter said the plant would carry the load for the rest of the scheme. “The new wastewater treatment plant is a critical piece of infrastructure that will provide a reliable, modern sewerage service while significantly reducing the environmental risks associated with ageing on-site septic systems,” Trotter said.
A pressure sewer scheme doesn’t work like the gravity mains most people picture. Instead of one deep trunk main running downhill, each connected property gets its own sealed collection unit and pump, discharging into a small-diameter poly rising main in the street. The mains are smaller and shallower than gravity sewer, which is why councils reach for pressure systems in low-lying coastal villages with high water tables and sandy ground.
It also changes who does the work. Every property connection is a separate small job: excavation and reinstatement in someone’s front yard, poly welding into the street main, a plumber tying the house drain across to the new unit, and a licensed electrician wiring the pump control gear. Fixed wiring is licensed work in every state and territory, so that pump can’t be energised by the plumbing crew or the homeowner.
”Once-in-a-generation”, says the mayor
Kempsey Shire Mayor Kinne Ring framed the contract award as the end of a long planning run.
“This is a once-in-a-generation investment in essential infrastructure for these Lower Macleay communities and an important step towards delivering a modern sewerage system that will serve our communities for decades to come,” Ring said.
“This project will deliver lasting environmental and public health benefits while supporting the future of Stuarts Point, Fishermans Reach and Grassy Head. We’re pleased to be moving into the next phase.”
Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water Senior Grants Manager Kirsty Fenton said the funding was aimed at the long game for the valley.
“Access to modern and reliable wastewater infrastructure is essential for supporting healthy, sustainable communities, and this project will deliver long-term benefits for local residents,” Fenton said.
“By improving environmental outcomes, protecting public health and helping safeguard the region’s waterways, the scheme represents an important investment in the future of the Macleay Valley.”
Council said the scheme had been shaped through technical investigations, environmental assessments and consultation with government agencies, Traditional Owners, landowners and the local community.
Contract signed, approvals still pending
Here’s the part worth reading twice if you’re thinking about the order book: the contract is signed, but the job isn’t approved yet.
The award follows the council lodging its Response to Submissions report with the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure. While the department finishes its assessment, the council will keep pushing detailed design so the project is shovel-ready when the tick comes.
“Awarding the contract allows us to work closely with Haslin Constructions to progress the detailed design as the project moves through the final stages of the approvals process,” Trotter said.
Haslin Constructions starts detailed design in the coming months. Construction of the treatment plant begins once approvals land, and the pressure sewer network and property connections follow after that.
What it means for the order book
Design-and-construct means the head contractor carries the design risk, and the subcontract packages tend to firm up late, after the design is locked and the approval is in hand. So the trade work here isn’t next quarter’s work. It’s the quarter after the department reports back, and then some.
The sequencing also splits the job into two very different phases. Building the plant is a civil and mechanical job: earthworks, concrete tanks and structures, process pipework, pumps, switchboards and controls, commissioning. That’s a fenced site with a defined crew.
The reticulation phase is the opposite. It’s hundreds of small property jobs strung out across three villages, which is exactly the kind of work that suits local plumbing and civil outfits with a couple of crews and an excavator, rather than a single big contractor. Councils running pressure sewer rollouts elsewhere have leaned on local subbies for that reason, because the connections need someone who can front up to a resident’s driveway and hand it back tidy.
Watch the planning department’s determination. Until that’s published, detailed design is the only thing actually moving, and no one on the Macleay is putting a crew on for it.
Frequently asked questions
When will construction start on the Stuarts Point wastewater plant?
Not until the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure approves the project. Haslin Constructions starts detailed design in the coming months, and plant construction begins once approvals land.
Why is Stuarts Point getting a pressure sewer instead of a standard gravity system?
Pressure sewer uses smaller, shallower mains and a sealed pump unit at each property instead of one deep gravity main, which suits low-lying coastal villages with high water tables and sandy ground like Stuarts Point, Fishermans Reach and Grassy Head.
Who is funding the Stuarts Point Sewerage Scheme?
It’s jointly funded by the Federal Government’s Housing Support Program, the NSW Government’s Safe and Secure Water Program and Kempsey Shire Council.
Can a plumber wire the new pump units?
No. Fixed wiring is licensed electrical work in every state and territory, so a licensed electrician has to wire the pump control gear, not the plumbing crew or the homeowner.
Sourced from Infrastructure Magazine, Kempsey Shire Council. Original article.
