Bungendore water supply pipeline

• Project value$2.08M (investigations) $65M approximately for construction

Work Completed

All field works are complete and the following components are now at tender ready stage

• Queanbeyan water pump station and Millpost re-chlorination facility (including specifications)
• Brooks Bank 6ML reservoir (including specifications)
• REF (including heritage and biodiversity)

The pipeline route has been settled and the final design and specifications for this component are expected within the next week or two

At least six individual resident meetings have been held following individual requests

What's next

• Continuation of negotiations for the necessary intergovernmental approvals to extract water from the Queanbeyan Water Supply Agreement. This is the agreement between Australian, NSW and ACT Governments
• We are continuing to seek opportunities for grant funding for the construction phase

Background

Council is investigating a pipeline between east Queanbeyan and Bungendore as the long-term solution to the future water supply for Bungendore. Without a sustainable water supply solution Council will need to press pause on any more development.

A feasibility study was presented to the Council meeting held on 12 April which considered the viability, approvals pathway and the economics of the proposal. Council resolved to proceed with the next stage of investigation.

The proposed route would see a new water pumping station at the site of a former reservoir in east Queanbeyan and a set of 375mm and 300mm diameter water mains would then run through a series of Council-owned land, road reserves, community title land, private property, Crown land, watercourses, State Road, rail corridor, and Commonwealth land.

The estimated capital cost is in the range of $65m, and if it was to be constructed, it would be paid for by developer contributions received for water supply or by external grants.

While the proposed project is possible from an engineering perspective, we now need to conduct investigations to make sure that the proposed route will be feasible. This investigation phase is also funded by developer contributions.

The project is also reliant on securing the required intergovernmental approvals to extract water from its Queanbeyan Water Supply Agreement. This is an agreement between the Australian, NSW and ACT Governments that allows us to access bulk potable water from the ACT.

Council has begun contacting landowners who will be affected by the proposed route to begin the required environmental studies.

The map below shows the proposed route between Queanbeyan and Bungendore.