Technical Tours

Optional technical tours have been selected to complement the Ozwater ‘12 sessions and workshops. They will take you to some of Australia’s most innovative and interesting water, wastewater and conservation technologies.

In keeping with the Ozwater ’12 history theme, delegates are given the opportunity to visit the sites of Sydney’s first water supplies. Experienced professionals will be on site to answer your specific questions.

Technical tours are available to Ozwater delegates only. The Organiser reserves the right to cancel any tours if deemed necessary and issue refunds as appropriate.

Delegates are required to wear long sleeves and pants and sturdy closed-in shoes on all tours.

Please note timings shown below are approximate. If booking flights at the conclusion of the technical tour, allow extra time in case of unexpected delays.

All tours are hosted by:

Tour Descriptions

TOUR 1: TANK STREAM

Dates:       Sunday 6 May, 2012 (preference given to non-Sydney based delegates) and Sunday 13 May, 2012
Times:      0850 / 0945 / 1040 / 1230 / 1325 / 1420 / 1515 / 1610 / 1705 - tours run for 55 minutes
Cost:         $30
Capacity: Limited to 16 delegates per tour

The Tank Stream was the original fresh water supply for the new colony of Sydney and is the reason that Sydney is where it is today. The stream was fed by springs that were situated in swampy ground in the area bounded by Elizabeth, Pitt, Market and Park Streets. The name “Tank Stream” comes from the tanks that were excavated in sandstone (near the present day Australia Square precinct) to collect and conserve the valuable water during times of drought. Today, the springs are covered with the concrete of the modern Sydney CBD.

The existence of the Tank Stream was one of the most important factors in determining the location of the first permanent European settlement in Australia. It was a vital resource for colonial Sydney. This special tour will take visitors underground along a part of its length.

Schedule
The total tour time is 55 minutes. Delegates make their own way to the Sydney Water Education Office at Australia Square in Sydney’s CBD. Delegates will be fitted with safety equipment, including harness, gumboots and helmet. A short DVD is played, covering the history of the Tank Stream followed by a safety induction. Time spent in the Tank Stream itself will be approximately 30 minutes. The total length of the tour is 100 metres, being a journey from the Tank Stream room at Curtin Place, upstream to Hunter Street, and return.

Wet Weather Cancellation Policy
The tour may be cancelled on the day of the event or 24 hours prior if rain or toxic gas levels become dangerous. If this occurs participants will be contacted via email.

Terms and Conditions

This tour is not suitable for those with serious health problems, with limited mobility or who are uncomfortable in confined spaces and on stepladders.
Hard hats, gumboots and safety harnesses are provided and must be worn, so please dress sensibly – skirts, dresses and singlets are inappropriate dress. Please bring socks to wear underneath the provided gumboots.
Because of the need to wear a safety harness, this tour is not suitable for pregnant women or those weighing more than 120kg.
Following the safety induction and before undertaking the tour, you will be required to sign an agreement that you understand the risks of undertaking the tour and are fit and capable of performing all the required activities.

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TOUR 2: BUSBY'S BORE

Dates:       Monday 7 May, 2012 and Friday 11 May, 2012
Times:      1330 - 1645 (Monday) / 0930 – 1330 (Friday)
Cost:         $45
Capacity: Limited to 20 delegates per tour

In 1824, Governor Darling appointed 59 year-old engineer John Busby, as Government Mineral Surveyor. Busby recommended the Lachlan Swamps between Paddington and Randwick (now part of Centennial Park) as a suitable new source of water. The Lachlan Swamps was a low-lying marsh with a plentiful supply of fresh clean water. Busby determined that the water could be conveyed to the city through an underground tunnel or ‘bore’, for distribution at the racecourse (today’s Hyde Park).

When work was completed on Busby’s Bore back in 1837, it could supply Sydney’s 20,000 people with up to 1.5 million litres of water each day from the Lachlan Swamps.

Busby’s Bore is a unique engineering achievement which played a crucial role in the development of urban Sydney. As a product of convict labour and a major factor in the establishment of local administration in NSW, the bore is associated with the important steps that changed Sydney from penal colony to colonial trading port.

On this walking tour, delegates will visit the source of the bore at Busby’s Pond and the memorial cairn in Centennial Park. The tour includes an exclusive viewing of the shaft into Busby’s Bore within Fox Studios.

Schedule (Monday)
The coach will depart Sydney Convention Centre (SCEC) at 1330. Delegates will arrive at Centennial Park at approximately 1415 to commence a 2 hour walking tour. The coach will return to SCEC at approximately 1645.

Please note lunch/ refreshments are not included on this tour. It is suggested delegates bring their own water and snacks.

Schedule (Friday)
The coach will depart Sydney Convention Centre (SCEC) at 0930. Delegates will arrive at Centennial Park at approximately 1015 to commence a 2 hour walking tour. At the conclusion of the tour, the coach will take delegates to Sydney Airport, arriving at approximately 1245. Remaining delegates will be returned to SCEC at approximately 1330.

Please note lunch/ refreshments are not included on this tour. It is suggested delegates bring their own water and snacks.

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TOUR 3: HYDRO FACILITY AT NORTH HEAD WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT

Dates:       Friday 11 May, 2012
Times:      0930 - 1430
Cost:         $80 - includes lunch
Capacity: Limited to 24 delegates

Sydney Water has recently completed $150 million improvement work at the North Head Wastewater Treatment Plant to ensure reliable plant performance, ongoing protection of water quality and a safer work environment. This includes the first hydro-electric plant in Australia to generate power from treated wastewater. It works by capturing energy from treated wastewater falling down a 60-metre shaft. Thanks to this innovation, as well as cogeneration - where methane produced during wastewater treatment is turned into green energy, the Treatment Plant now generates about 40% of its own power.

The improvements ensure the plant continues to perform in line with the environmental protection standards set by the Office of Environment and Heritage through to 2023.

North Head Wastewater Treatment Plant is located on the North Head Peninsula at the entrance to Sydney Harbour, near Manly. The 15.9-hectare site is bordered by Sydney Harbour National Park and the Tasman Sea.

North Head Wastewater Treatment Plant was commissioned in 1971 and is the second largest ocean Treatment Plant in Sydney. It provides high rate primary treatment of sewage to a catchment of approximately 416 square kilometres that extends west to Seven Hills, south to Bankstown and north to Ku-ring-gai and Collaroy.

The plant serves a population of over one million people and treats about 300 million litres of flow a day. Treated effluent is discharged through a deepwater ocean outfall.

Delegates will tour the facility at North Head and get a general overview of the Plant and the hydro plus the Co-generation facility. The group will then be addressed by the Manager of Sydney Waters Energy Unit, Daniel Cooper who will outline Sydney Water’s strategy to enable SWC to become carbon neutral by 2020.

Schedule
The coach will depart Sydney Convention Centre (SCEC) at 0930. Delegates will arrive at North Head at approximately 1045 to commence a 1 ½ hour site tour. The tour will conclude with a light lunch in Manly. The coach will depart the lunch venue at 1330 and will arrive at SCEC at approximately 1430. The coach will then continue to Sydney Airport with an estimated arrival time of 1515.

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TOUR 4: ROUSE HILL WATER RECYCLING PLANT AND SYSTEM

Dates:       Friday 11 May, 2012
Times:      0930 - 1445
Cost:         $80 - includes lunch
Capacity: Limited to 48 delegates

Australia’s largest residential water recycling scheme is in the Rouse Hill area in Sydney’s north-west. The scheme started in 2001, and more than 20,000 homes are now using up to 1.7 billion litres of recycled water each year for flushing toilets, watering gardens, washing cars and other outdoor uses. On average the Rouse Hill scheme has reduced demand for drinking water by about 40%. Eventually the scheme will serve around 36,000 homes.

The area includes parts of Acacia Gardens, Beaumont Hills, Castle Hill, Glenwood, Kellyville, Kellyville Ridge, Parklea, Quakers Hill, Stanhope Gardens, The Ponds and, of course, Rouse Hill. The Rouse Hill Water Recycling Plant treats about 4.7 billion litres of wastewater each year for residential use.

Delegates will be hosted by the Plant Manager and will tour the Rouse Hill Recycled Water Plant. The tour will then continue to some of the trunk drainage land-including Strangers Creek (wetlands, rain gardens, etc.) operated by Sydney Water (hosted by the Stormwater Group) to see the integrated operations of the water cycle in the area.

Schedule
The coach will depart Sydney Convention Centre (SCEC) at 0930. Delegates will arrive at Rouse Hill at approximately 1030 to commence a 2 hour site tour. The tour will conclude with a light lunch at a nearby venue. The coach will depart the lunch venue at 1400 and will arrive at SCEC at 1445. The coach will then continue to Sydney Airport with an estimated arrival time of 1515.

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TOUR 5: INDUSTRIAL WATER EFFICIENCY ON SHOW

Dates:       Friday 11 May, 2012
Times:      0930 - 1315
Cost:         $45
Capacity: Limited to 24 delegates

Swift Electroplaters has been providing high quality electroplating, polishing and electropolishing services to its East Coast customers since 1951. From very modest beginnings in Sydney’s Penshurst then Leichhardt, the business moved to its current premises in Silverwater in the early 1970’s. With 25 employees, the business remains small and very customer focused.

Swift Electroplaters have installed a state of the art water recycling system that has allowed them to reuse over 95% of the production water from their plating processes. The system is a combination of traditional pre-treatment and a patented computer controlled demineralisation system that incorporates remote operation to ensure fit for purpose-recycled water. They recently won Sydney Water’s Business Customer Sustainable Water Use award.

Delegates will tour the factory and be addressed by the owner who will detail what steps he has made to make such a dramatic drop in water usage as well as receive a presentation from the SWC Manager of the Business Water Saving Program who will outline the initiatives employed by Sydney Water to encourage companies to participate.

Schedule
The coach will depart Sydney Convention Centre (SCEC) at 0930. Delegates will arrive at Silverwater at approximately 1030 to commence a 2 hour site tour. The coach will return delegates to SCEC at approximately 1315 and will then continue to Sydney Airport with an estimated arrival time of 1345.

Please note lunch/ refreshments are not included on this tour. It is suggested delegates bring their own water and snacks.

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Technical Tours

Sunday 6 May 2012

Monday 7 May 2012

Friday 11 May 2012

Sunday 13 May 2012

Tour Descriptions