About our Water Division

Here at PB, we provide complete water project solutions right across Australia and New Zealand and support our operations in Asia and the Middle East - solutions that encompass the whole water and wastewater management cycle. Indeed, our multidisciplinary expertise spans the management, engineering, operational and strategic spectrum.

That's why our highly skilled 200 plus-strong team is so diverse. You'll find professionals from all disciplines: civil, electrical, hydraulic, chemical, mechanical engineers; hydrologists, hydrogeologists and water quality scientists; regulatory specialists and environmental scientists. It's a highly skilled and motivated team that tackles extremely complex projects with a reputation for excellence.

Our client-base is just as diverse as our team including governments at all levels, contractors, as well as huge private companies from various industry sectors. And with the trend for increased investment in water infrastructure showing no signs of slowing, there's never been a better time to join our Water Division and develop your career on a truly international stage.

Recent Water Projects

With such a broad range of expertise within our Water team, we're able to tackle a bewildering array of projects spanning the entire water cycle. This includes recycling, desalination, water and sewage treatment, water and sewerage networks, asset and catchment management projects, integrated water cycle management, surface water and groundwater, water-sensitive urban design, hydrologic and hydraulic studies, plus a host of strategic and planning services.

Here's a small selection of recent projects.

Gippsland Water Factory

The challenge: As part of an alliance, we were awarded the contract to deliver an innovative wastewater treatment and recycling facility in the Latrobe Valley, Victoria, for Gippsland Water Authority.

PB are working with its Alliance partners on this exciting and visionary project - a treatment facility that will be capable of treating up to 35 million litres of domestic and industrial wastewater daily and provide recycled water for reuse to local industry. The project also involves the design and construction of over 80km of pressure pipelines and associated pump stations. Our primary role is to provide engineering services and oversee all aspects of environmental management from inception through to final design, ensuring that sustainability, lifecycle and greenhouse gas issues are considered throughout the design process. PB has been part of this integrated team providing civil, mechanical, structural, electrical, geotechnical, chemical and environmental engineering skills.

Illawarra Wastewater Strategy

The challenge: Develop the $200 million Illawarra Wastewater Strategy - the largest wastewater project commissioned by Sydney Water in the Illawarra region, incorporating one of Australia's largest water re-use projects.

Designed to meet the wastewater needs of the Illawarra region in an environmentally responsible manner beyond 2021, this project augmented the capacity of Wollongong WWTP to treat approximately 177ML/day to tertiary standards, bringing its total capacity to 320ML/day. Moreover, we converted the Bellambi and Port Kembla WWTPs to facilities for the storage and treatment of excess sewage during storms. This involved designing two major pumping stations and pipelines capable of transferring raw sewage at a rate of 798L/s from Bellambi and 590L/s from Port Kembla to Wollongong WWTP. We also designed a twin 1200 diameter ocean outfall (1,000m long), as well as civil and structural design of a water reclamation plant, enabling up to 27ML/day to be made available as high quality water for industrial reuse.

SewerFix

The challenge: Protect public health by reducing the frequency of sewage overflows reaching waterways from Sydney Water's sewerage systems.

As part of the SewerFix Wet Weather Alliance, we are providing engineering design services that will reduce sewage overflows caused by wet weather events. The program is targeting high frequency overflows that impact on a number of recreational areas. In addition to program management and leadership, this involves network planning, civil, structural and tunnel engineering, together with community consultation and environmental engineering. As such we will take a leading role within the Alliance, driving the project forward from planning and design through to commissioning, ensuring our optimal designs meet the triple bottom line and licensing criteria.

Bundamba Advanced Water Treatment Plant

The challenge: Develop Queensland's new Bundamba Advanced Water Treatment Plant (AWTP), providing recycled water for power station and industrial purposes, and reducing demand on the Wivenhoe-Somerset potable water storage systems.

Designing and constructing a water treatment plant as part of a joint venture is a complex business at the best of times. In this instance though, we had to work to very tight timeframes. Consequently, in our role as general engineering consultant, we had a pivotal part to play. First and foremost, we were responsible for civil, structural and building services on the project - everything from concept design to the construction phase services, including on-site works surveillance and reviews, plus specialist services such as geotechnical engineering, electrical works, environmental management, and planning and approvals. This meant managing design, construction and commissioning teams from Australia, Singapore and the USA, and working on the ground with the construction team to ensure the project was completed on time.