More than 75 per cent of anchoring activities have now been completed as part of the North Pine Dam Staged Strengthening project, marking a significant milestone as the dam celebrates its 50th anniversary.

The project involves drilling 54 permanent post-tensioned anchors through the dam wall to strengthen its structural capacity and improve its performance during extreme weather events.

Seqwater Executive General Manager Infrastructure Planning and Capital Delivery, Sarah Dixon, said the  staged strengthening project was an important step towards the planned upgrade of North Pine Dam.

"As North Pine Dam marks 50 years of operation this month, we're celebrating five decades of safely and reliably supplying drinking water to communities across the northern region and Moreton Bay,” Ms Dixon said.

“Like any major piece of infrastructure, the dam requires ongoing investment and maintenance to ensure it continues to operate safely and reliably for generations to come.

“The works are strengthening the dam and helping it meet modern engineering standards, which have evolved significantly since the dam was constructed in 1976,” she said.

Specialist contractor SRG Global Civil is delivering the dam wall anchoring works and will continue with anchoring the primary spillway.

The spillway works involve installing a further 10 anchors across the 61 metre wide spillway, with works expected to commence later this year.

“Once completed, the 64 anchors will add around 95,000 tonnes of effective weight to the dam wall and spillway, further supporting the long-term performance of this important piece of water infrastructure,” Ms Dixon said.

The staged strengthening works are helping pave the way for the planned North Pine Dam Improvement Project.

A Detailed Business Case is underway to inform future upgrades to the dam wall, saddle dams, spillway and gates.

Planning for the region’s future water needs

Further north, planning is progressing for the Northern Pipeline Interconnector Stage 3 (NPI-3), which would complete the final link in a bi-directional bulk water pipeline and provide greater flexibility to move water across the SEQ Water Grid.

The project would strengthen water supply resilience for communities across Moreton Bay, Sunshine 
Coast and Noosa communities.

"As our region continues to grow, projects like NPI-3 play an important role in strengthening water supply reliability and giving us greater flexibility to move water around the SEQ Water Grid to meet changing demand,” Ms Dixon said.

"The proposed pipeline is expected to follow existing infrastructure corridors for most of its route, and ecological surveys are underway to progress the project’s business case.”

In the north-west, Seqwater is investigating a potential new treated water pipeline connection between Dayboro and the SEQ Water Grid.

“The proposed connection would improve water supply resilience and security for more than 2,300 residents and support future growth in the region,” Ms Dixon said.

“Technical investigations are underway to assess potential pipeline routes and subject to approvals, the project could also include a new pump station and supporting infrastructure to connect Dayboro to the SEQ Water Grid.”

Building the next generation of water professionals

As Seqwater invests in the infrastructure needed to secure the region’s water future, it is also investing in the people who will operate and maintain it.

Four new Trainee Water Treatment Operators have recently joined Seqwater at treatment plants across the northern region including Landers Shute, Kilcoy, Noosa and North Pine, bringing the total trainee cohort across the business to 13.

Trainee Operator Nathanael Van Lonkhuyzen recently started at the North Pine Water Treatment Plant in Joyner.

“I thought it was a great opportunity to take on a traineeship that would lead to a great career with a real purpose behind it," Nathanael said.

"The first two months have been really interesting, lots of exciting learning alongside some really experienced operators."

Seqwater continues to plan and deliver projects across South East Queensland to maintain safe, reliable and resilient water supplies for the region’s growing population.

To find out more about projects across the northern region, visit our projects page.