2019 Core Values Awards Case Study | Wentworth to Broken Hill Pipeline Project

W2BH (John Holland, MPC Kinetic and WaterNSW) | Winner Infrastructure (Construction Phase) Project

The overall aim of the Wentworth to Broken Hill Pipeline (W2BH) project was to construct a 270km pipeline and associated infrastructure (including four pump stations, a 720ML bulk water storage and high voltage power lines)I to transfer up to 37.4ML per day of water from the River Murray to the Mica Street Water Treatment Plant in Broken Hill. There was a need for the pipeline to be operational before Broken Hill’s supply of water from the Darling River ran out, as a result of severe drought conditions experienced by much of NSW.

The integrated Community Engagement Team was responsible for managing all community and stakeholder engagement activities during the design and construction stages of the project. WaterNSW and JV personnel worked closely together to deliver consistent messaging, identify whether issues were to do with broader water policy or related directly to the project and quickly resolve any issues that were raised by community members.

In order to achieve the project objectives, the community and stakeholders were engaged at different levels of participation throughout construction. The different levels of public participation were guided by the IAP2 Spectrum, with stakeholders engaging mostly at the ‘inform’, ‘consult’ and ‘involve’ levels, with some engagement taking place at the “collaborate” level.