2007 – Planning to secure South East Queensland’s future water infrastructure

Russell Paton and David Murray

The South-East Queensland Regional Water Supply Strategy is securing future water supplies, which includes a regional water grid and new water storages. The Queensland Government’s contribution to future water supplies includes Traveston Crossing Dam on the Mary River, Wyaralong Dam on the Teviot Brook, and Bromelton Offstream Storage and Cedar Grove Weir on the Logan River.

Queensland Water Infrastructure (QWI) was established by the Queensland Government in June 2006 to progress feasibility studies, design and construction of this new water infrastructure. QWI commissioned SunWater to investigate much of this infrastructure to preliminary design level for the impact assessment process and as supporting information for potential alliance partners for the delivery of the projects. The work undertaken included extensive geotechnical investigations, hydraulic modelling, hydrologic modelling and design activities. This paper outlines the investigations associated with the preliminary design of this infrastructure and process of risk and opportunity identification to establish the program and budgets for these projects.

Stage 1 of Traveston Crossing Dam is to be constructed by the end of 2011, with a storage capacity of 153,000 ML providing a yield of 70,000 ML each year. The design adopted for the dam consists of a roller compacted concrete structure across the valley floor with an earth embankment section on the left abutment. In order to limit inundation upstream and mitigate flooding in Gympie, a gated spillway on the right abutment has been adopted. The Traveston Crossing Dam has an estimated project cost of $1,700 million.

The design developed for the Wyaralong damsite provides a reservoir with storage capacity of 103,000 ML and a yield of 21,000 ML each year when operated in conjunction with Cedar Grove Weir. Preliminary designs have been prepared for three types of dam, which are all considered technically feasible for the site. They are a roller compacted concrete dam, an earth and rockfill dam and a concrete faced rockfill dam. The Wyaralong Dam has an estimated project cost of $500 million.

The Bromelton Offstream Storage, of earthfill construction, provides a storage capacity of 8,000 ML and Cedar Grove Weir, a sheet pile structure, provides a storage capacity of 1,000 ML and both are to be constructed by the end of 2007.

Keywords: Planning, Traveston Crossing Dam, Wyaralong Dam, Bromelton Offstream Storage, Cedar Grove Weir, Queensland, risk.

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