WorldWide Drilling Resource

Sewage Project First of Its Kind in Australia Compiled by Amy White Associate Editor WorldWide Drilling Resource ® The popu l a t i on o f Aus t r a l i a ’ s Mornington Peninsula is growing steadily, and peak summer seasons bring an influx of holiday residents to an increasing number of vacation homes. More than 16,000 properties rely on septic tanks and onsite treatment plants to manage household sewage, and they take quite a thrashing during peak seasons. Aging, failing, and poorly maintained septic tanks have led to polluted groundwater, waterways, and the environment. The Melbourne water retailer, South East Water is addressing these issues by rolling out one of the largest projects of its kind in Australia’s history. The $357 million Peninsula Early Connection Option (ECO) Project will connect thousands of properties to a new pressure sewage network. More than 140 miles of pipeline will be installed within 30 months. An Environmental Impact Assessment was undertaken to address areas of high environmental significance. During the design phase, several different construction options were considered. Due to the project’s scale and sensitive nature, horizontal directional drilling (HDD) was deemed the best choice for construction and installation. This is the first time HDD has been used on a pressure sewage network of this scope in Australia. “[HDD] is well-suited to the soils of the peninsula. The pipe sizes are relatively small compared to conventional gravity systems, and constructing in this manner means that our surface disturbance and environmental footprint is minimal,” said Charlie Littlefair, South East Water general manager of asset creation. For their outstanding contributions to sustainability on the Peninsula ECO Project, South East Water was named a finalist in the 2014 Premier’s Sustainability Awards. The corporation’s Managing Director, Kevin Hutchings said the integration of a novel approach to de- sign, innovations, and HDD allowed South East Water to apply a mod- ern solution to address age-old sewage p r ob - lems. Construction on the project be- gan in November 2013, and if al l goes according to plan, the final connection will be completed in July 2016. +9 &8 ,&6"4/23 *,'*&,% "4&2 &,, /.6&.4*/.", ".% &6&23& *2$5,"4*/. 2*,, *0& 15*0-&.4 +9 &8 ,&6"4/23 2& 3&% /2,%7*%& ! 2&8 2&8-$'"%%&. $/- ,&6"4/23 /"% 4&34 $&24*'*$"4&3 "6"*,"#,& * $ "% * $ ( # * $ "% * " # % ! ! $% " ! ! # " ' $ # ) " ! ) " "# ) % # ) ! "# & )"6& &,&6"4/23 /' ",, 3*:&3 490&3 ".% 7&*()43 ".% $". #5*,% 4/ ".9 30&$*", "00,*$"4*/.3 ) ' & # ) $ ( "# ) $" % % !# ) " ## & " % # ) $# ) ' # &7 3&% 15*0-&.4 6"*,"#,& 777 2&8-$'"%%&. $/- 52 OCTOBER 2015 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® Don’t Miss WWDR ’s December Issue Deadlines: Space Reservation: October 25 th Display & Classified Ad Copy: November 1 st