South East Queensland was caught in the grip of a severe continent-wide drought and faced stringent water restrictions. Combined dam levels were low, and water supplies were dwindling. Supply to two nearby power stations was threatened. The government needed a solution that would secure water supplies to the power stations, would help with drought-proofing the state and could be operational on an emergency schedule.
Black & Veatch engineers already were assisting the government with the development of the Western Corridor Recycled Water Scheme (WCRW). This far-sighted project included the construction of three advanced water treatment plants and two pipelines that would ultimately produce 232 million liters a day (MLD) of purified recycled water. Black & Veatch, along with joint-venture partners, formed the Bundamba Alliance, which was awarded the design, construction and commissioning of one of the three water treatment plants – the Bundamba Advanced Water Treatment Plant (AWTP) Stages 1A and 1B – on a fast-track schedule.