Construction under way on Bathurst stormwater harvesting project

Hynash Constructions moved the excavation equipment into the water filtration plant earlier this week, enabling them to make a start on the construction works ahead of the Christmas break.

It is an exciting and long-awaited development in the project, which was flagged as a potential water security measure in August, 2019.

The design and approvals stage was the biggest hurdle for council, taking years to overcome.

Mayor Robert Taylor was glad to finally see activity at the site.

"It's been in the pipeline for a couple of years, before I came on council," he said.

"... To see that the project has started and is hopefully finished in the next 12 months is an absolute coup for Bathurst."

Hynash Constructions manager Tim Ditchfield and project manager Abi Javam said what's being seen on site at the moment is the initial earthworks on lagoon four of the water filtration plant.

Pipes have also started to be laid.

Work will wrap up on Friday, December 23 ahead of the Christmas and new year period, with crews expected to be back on site in early January to continue the project.

"In the first part of 2023, we'll be under taking under bore and continuation of pipelaying. There will be multiple work sites commenced in different stages," Mr Ditchfield said.

He said work will progress much more quickly, with construction the easiest part of the project.

"Getting the construction design approved has been the real focus over the last three months. That's what we've been working on," he said.

"Now that we've started on the physical works, things will progress quickly."

The stormwater harvesting scheme is estimated to be able to provide for approximately a third of the city's water needs, putting Bathurst in a strong position when it finds itself in dry times again.

READ MORE: Bathurst stormwater harvesting scheme to provide a third of city's water supply

The scheme includes a river extraction point, just upstream of the waste water treatment plant, to provide water to the the town water system, and a pre-treatment water quality system prior to water intake into the water filtration plant.

It will be capable of harvesting urban stormwater and rural runoff from Vale and Jordan creeks.

The project will cost approximately $22 million, with much of the funding from the project coming from the NSW Government.

Deputy Premier and Member for Bathurst Paul Toole visited the site on Thursday to see how construction was progressing.

He stressed the importance of the scheme to Bathurst's overall water security.

"We all know at the moment we are seeing a lot of rainfall, seeing flooding around the area, but we also know we're going to see dry periods again, so it is about making sure that we secure the area and we actually ensure that we've got water secure for the long term," Mr Toole said.

After the first stage is completed, a second stage is planned to allow for a second extraction point downstream of the confluence of Raglan Creek with the Macquarie River.

It has an expected yield of a further 2000 megalitres per annum.

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