Googong Township IWC Project
The Googong Township IWC Project will deliver a water cycle system that provides essential water and waste water services. It is an innovative response to water supply and has been designed to meet best practice water conservation outcomes. It will be delivered in stages, which have been linked to the anticipated population growth. Some stages will require construction or decommissioning of temporary infrastructure so that service requirements can be met for the anticipated population.
Stage 1
This stage involves the infrastructure required to service the initial stage of the township subdivision, which mainly relates to the first of five neighbourhoods.
In subsequent stages of the IWC Project all key infrastructure elements would be expanded to their full capacity and interim or temporary elements decommissioned and replaced with permanent infrastructure.
Construction of Stage 1 of the IWC commenced in January 2013 and was completed on 05 July 2016. Stage 1 delivered:
– A water recycling plant (WRP)
– Temporary reservoirs for recycled and potable water
– Pumping stations for sewage (SPS1 and SPS2), recycled (RWPS) and potable water (BWPS)
– Mains pipe work (including rising and distribution mains) for sewage, recycled water and potable to connect to Neighbourhood 1A (NH1A)
– Connection to the stormwater management system.
Stage 1 – Stages and timing
Stage 1 was developed in three stages, Stage A – Network (west and east), Stage AB – WRP and Stage B – Network. See below for more detail.
| Stage | Description | Construction Start Date | Operation Date |
| A – Network | West: Construction of an interim water supply that includes potable and recycled water interim reservoirs, sewage pumping station (SPS1), connecting pipelines together with the connection to the subdivision reticulation network. East: Construction of bulk water pumping station and connecting pipeline to service the interim reservoirs. | West: January 2013 East: April 2013 | West: August 2014 East: October 2014 |
| AB – WRP | Construction of Stage AB WRP to treat sewage and produce recycled water for use in the township. | September 2014 | July 2016 |
| B – Network | Construction of second part of the sewage network including a second pumping station and connecting pipeline. | December 2014 | June 2016 |
Stage 2
Stage 2 will be delivered in two sub-stages in order to provide the appropriate infrastructure to accommodate the size and growth of the Googong township. Stage C is currently in operation, with Stage D being developed as demand requires in the future.
Concept approval for Stage 2 was granted under Part 3A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act). Subsequently, GTPL gained project approvals for Stage C and Stage D in April 2016 and August 2020 respectively.
Stage C was constructed and gifted to Queanbeyan Palerang Regional Council (QPRC) to operate. It currently provides water, wastewater and recycled water services for the first 9,400 residents in the Googong Township. Stage C is split as follows:
Stage C – Network (West) – new potable water and recycled water reservoirs and supporting supply and distribution mains, decommissioning of the interim reservoir site, and the part of a rising main from the BWPS to the -WRP. This stage was approved by Queanbeyan City Council (now part of QPRC) under Part 5 of the EP&A Act.
Stage C – Network (East) – augmentation of the BWPS and rising main. This stage was approved by Palerang Shire Council (now part of QPRC) under Part 4 of the EP&A Act.
Stage C WRP – augmentation of the WRP. This stage was approved by QPRC under Part 5 of the EP&A Act.
Stage D, the ultimate stage of the IWC, will provide water, wastewater and recycled water services to all of Googong Township. Stage D is split as follows:
Stage D Network – a third and final reservoir at the Nangi Pimble reservoir site and supporting supply and distribution mains.
Stage D SPS – pump upgrades to the 2 existing sewage pumping stations and 2 new sewage pumping stations (SPS3 and SPS4) Stage D WRP – augmentation of the WRP for greater operational capacity.
Stage 2 – Stages and timing
Stage 2 will be developed in two sub-stages, Stage C (Network East, Network West and WRP) and Stage D. See below for more detail.
| Stage | Description | Construction Start Date | Operation Date |
| C | Network East: Augmentation of the BWPS and rising main. Network West: Construction of new potable water and recycled water reservoirs and supporting Decommissioning of the interim reservoir site, and the part of a rising main from the BWPS to the WRP. WRP: Augmentation of the WRP for additional capacity. | East: September 2016 West: August 2016 WRP: June 2017 | East: July 2017 West: February 2018 WRP: November 2018 |
| D | Augmentation of the WRP and network assets for maximum capacity. | 2024 | 2025 |
Project Documents
This website has been established to meet the requirements of the Concept and Project Approval for the Googong Township IWC Project relating to publicly available information. The following documents are made available to the public:
– Project approvals: Approvals and licences granted by NSW and Commonwealth regulators.
– Environmental assessment: Environmental assessments undertaken for the project.
– Environmental management plans: Plans to manage the environment during project construction and operation.
– Monitoring, auditing and compliance: A program to track the compliance of the project with the requirements of the project approvals.
– Landscape management plans: A plan for the management of visual amenity issues arising from the works.
– Other documents related to the project
Approvals Licences and Permits
Links to download the relevant approvals, licences and permits for the Googong Township IWC Project are provided below:
Environmental Assessment Stage AB
An Environmental Assessment was prepared to meet the requirements of Part 3A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. The Environmental Assessment examines the impacts of construction and operation of the water related services infrastructure on the environment, including environmental, social and economic aspects.
A Submissions Report was prepared following the exhibition of the Environmental Assessment from 17 November to 20 December 2010. This report responded to the submissions received from stakeholders and described minor refinements that were made to the project as a result of these submissions and further consultation undertaken with stakeholders.
For ease of downloading, the Environmental Assessment document has been broken into sections.
Part A – Introduction and description of the project
Part B – Environmental assessment
Environmental Assessment Stage C
For ease of downloading, the Environmental Assessment document has been broken into sections.
Environmental Assessment Stage D
For ease of downloading, the Environmental Assessment document has been broken into sections.
Construction environmental management plans
Before major construction on each stage of the project starts, construction environmental management plans (CEMPs) are approved by the Department of Infrastructure and Planning. The CEMPs and sub plans address the Project Approval conditions of approval, specifically construction activities and environmental management strategies, including:
- The environmental aspects of the project area.
- The likely construction environmental impacts and environmental management procedures for all construction processes.
- Consultation requirements with relevant government agencies.
CEMPs and sub-plans have been or will be prepared for the following stages of the project in line with the project schedule:
Operation environmental management plans
Operations environmental management plans (OEMPs) provide an approach to the management of environmental issues during the operation of the network or water recycling plant.
They will be prepared prior to the commencement of operation of the project.
Pollution Incident Response Management Plan
16 September 2015 Stage AB Network Download PDF
Operational Environmental Management Plan
29 June 2015 Stage AB WRP Download PDF
Operational Environmental Management Plan
29 June 2015 Stage AB Network
Monitoring, Auditing and Compliance
Monitoring
The Conditions of Approval and various management plans prepared for the Googong Township IWC Project require monitoring to help ensure environmental mitigation measures are working effectively. The following monitoring has been undertaken:
- Construction Stage A – Network, Stage AB Water Recycling Plant: Monitoring of noise and vibration, and water quality; and collection of meteorological data.
- Operation Stage A – Network: Collection of water and wastewater data, monitoring of tankering operations and testing of operational noise since operations commenced in February 2014.
- Baseline monitoring of groundwater in the township area, and surface water and aquatic ecology (upstream and downstream of the project) commenced in September 2013 – this baseline data is summarised in the Water Management Plan and sub-plans, available at Water Management Plan.
- A summary of pollution monitoring data undertaken for EPL 20788 for the periods May and June 2017 is available here.
Monitoring data is available on request.
Audits and compliance reviews
Independent external audits are conducted regularly for IWC Project. Summaries of the audit findings and the follow up actions can be found below:
- Stage A – Network (west) on 4 June 2013 by NGH Environmental
- Stage A – Network (east) on 19 November 2013 by NGH Environmental
- Stage A – Network (west/east) on 14 May 2014 by NGH Environmental
- Stage A – Network (east) and Stage AB WRP on 28 October 2014 by NGH Environmental
- Stage A Network (east), Stage AB WRP and Stage B Network on 5 & 6 May 2015 by Ecology and Heritage Partners
- Stage AB WRP on 20 November 2015 by Ecology and Heritage Partners.
Compliance tracking is conducted regularly for IWC Project. Six monthly compliance tracking reports can be found below:
Landscape management plans
Landscape Management Plans (LMPs) are required to be prepared before construction starts to manage the visual amenity issues arising from the IWC Project works.
LMPs have been prepared for the following stages:
Other documents
Extended Work Hours Request
4 May 2017Download PDF
Community information plan
6 April 2016
Googong Township water cycle project: Stage 1 Community Information PlanDownload PDF
Notification to Residents: Out of Hours Works – September 2015
29 August 2015Download PDF
Notification to residents: Out of Hours Works – August 2015
25 July 2015Download PDF
Notification to Residents: Out of Hours Works – July 2015
19 June 2015Download PDF
Notification to Residents: Out of Hours Works – June 2015
30 May 2015 Download PDF
Notification to Residents: Out of Hours Works – May 2015
May 2015 Download PDF
COMMUNITY INFORMATION PLAN (STAGE 1)
7 February 2014 Download PDF
APRASIA CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT PLAN
6 July 2014 Pink-tailed Worm-lizard protection and management plan Download PDF
Water Management Plan
A Water Management Plan for Stage 1 of the Googong IWC Project has been prepared in accordance with Condition D8 of the Project Approval. The Plan was approved by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment on 10 November 2015.
This Water Management Plan has since been updated to include the operational elements of Stage C in August 2018.
Water Management Plan Approval
10 November 2015Download PDF
Water Management Plan
25 May 2016Download PDF
Surface Water (and Aquatic Ecology) Monitoring Program
8 October 2015Download PDF
Groundwater Monitoring Program
25 May 2016Download PDF
Recycled Water Flow Release Protocol
25 May 2016Download PDF
Surface and Groundwater Response Plan
8 October 2015Download PDF
Irrigation Management Plan
25 May 2016Download PDF