ACT Healthy Waterways

construction -

Government, Specialised

ACT Healthy Waterways

The ACT Healthy Waterways Project (ACTHW) is a joint initiative of the Australian and ACT governments to protect and improve long-term water quality in the ACT and further downstream in the Murrumbidgee River system. Construction Control, as the Managing Contractor, has been engaged to design, construct and establish water quality control assets across 6 catchments in Canberra-Queanbeyan region.

The project was delivered to the budget of $64 million and was completed by the deadline of 30 June 2019, in a total design and construction time of 2 years 4 months. To date, 20 water quality control assets have been delivered. Types of assets include ponds, wetlands, floating wetland, rain gardens and swales as well as creek restoration and channel reconnection – designed to ‘turn off’ or reduce the amount of nutrients, sediment and pollutants entering our waterways. The project should also result in a reduction in closure days due to algal blooms in Lake Burley Griffin, Lake Tuggeranong and Lake Ginninderra, leading to greater recreational use and improved tourism in these locations.

A unique aspect of the project was the requirement to achieve an ‘Excellent’ categorization by the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia (ISCA). This is initially assessed at the design stage of the works and confirmed after construction. Some environmental, economic and social objectives include maximum pollutant reduction in waterways, addition of public amenity, and involvement of the local community and businesses.