GOULBURN Mulwaree Council will decide tomorrow night whether to proceed to the construction stage of the Highlands Source Project (HSP).
The council’s water services manager Greg Horvath said leading water experts from GHD gave a preliminary presentation to Goulburn Councillors on Monday, which included an updated cost estimate and outline of the project to date.
“It is pleasing that the cost estimate, supported by independent experts MacDonald International, came in at $54.1 million,” Mr Horvath said.
“Our previous estimates were around $54 million so it is good news that costs have not changed significantly. This figure also allows $8.93 million in contingencies to cover unforseen expenditure, which should always be planned for in a project of this size.”
Following Monday’s workshop, a report will be considered by Council at an extraordinary meeting from 5pm tomorrow.
A report to the meeting recommends that the HSP progress to the construction stage, with work to start immediately.
It also recommends that Council staff work with the funding partners, the State and Commonwealth governments, to ensure Council’s contribution to the project does not exceed $10 million.
The State and Commonwealth governments have each committed $20 million to the project, a total of $40 million.
The report further recommends that a working group be formed to oversee the implementation of the project, which is proposed to include two Councillors, Council’s general manager and water services manager, the construction project manager from GHD, a community representative and a representative from Wingecarribee Shire Council.
The report will be presented to Goulburn Council at an Extraordinary Council Meeting on Thursday, to take place in the Council Chambers. The public is welcome to attend.
The agenda is available on www.goulburn.nsw.gov.au or from Council’s Customer Service.
Pipeline to pump five million litres a day to Goulburn
THE draft Integrated Water Cycle Management Plan (IWCM) report considers a number of scenarios for meeting the water needs of Goulburn, Marulan and Tarago.
It states the following should be implemented for Goulburn:
* The Highlands Source Project pipeline from the Wingecarribee Reservoir to the Goulburn Water Treatment Plant with an initial transfer capacity of five mega litres a day;
* Augmentation of the Goulburn Sewerage Treatment Plant to produce effluent of a quality suitable for reuse farm application, centralised effluent reuse (including dual reticulation) and disposal of excess flows to the river;
* A centralised effluent reuse scheme supplying up to 500 ML a year of high quality recycled effluent, with gradual uptake of recycled effluent over 30 years; and,
* Further expansion of the Demand Management Program.
The report says tapping into the HSP is also the preferred option to secure Marulan’s long-term water security.
In relation to Tarago, the draft report recommends the council undertake a detailed risk assessment of the existing on-site water and sewer systems.
Based on the outcomes of this assessment, it says the council should review the options of providing reticulated sewerage and/or reticulated treated water and explore funding options.
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