Australasia |
Upgrades and improvements
IWP&DC gives an overview of industry news and project updates from across Australia and New Zealand
Above: Birds eye view of Lake MacDonald Dam Improvement
Below: View of Scrivener Dam in the Australian Capital Territory © R McDonald /
Shutterstock.com
PAVING THE WAY FOR enhanced water security and reliability across southeast Queensland, Australian water supply authority Seqwater has undertaken its largest- ever capital investment into dam improvements. Since 2008, the company has delivered 13 upgrades, including the Leslie Harrison Dam at Capalaba, Sideling Creek Dam north of Brisbane and Ewen Maddock Dam on the Sunshine Coast. Described as being a vital part of this programme, work has now begun on the Lake Macdonald Dam Improvement Project. Built in 1965, Lake Macdonald Dam is over 500m long and an ungated earth and rock fill structure which plays an important role in supplying southeast Queensland with drinking water. Although constructed to safety standards of the time, since then methods used to estimate extreme weather and flood risks have changed significantly. This will be the first major upgrade of the structure since it was raised in 1980, with improvements now required to ensure the dam meets modern engineering and design standards to ensure its continued safe operation and long-term water security. Aquatic fauna surveys and the construction of roads and office buildings began in November 2024 to prepare the site, with ongoing gradual lake lowering occurring since late last year ahead of the wet season and upcoming works. Weather and site conditions permitting, the project
is expected to take about five years to complete, and could support more than 150 jobs over its lifetime. John Holland has been named as the scheme’s head contractor.
Below: Major strengthening works are being carried out at Scrivener Dam, one of Canberra’s most important water infrastructure assets
In June 2025 Seqwater announced it had started construction on upgrades to the dam. The work includes construction of a temporary cofferdam, a new concrete spillway, an upper labyrinth, and the reconstruction of the existing earth embankments to enhance the dam’s ability to withstand extreme weather events. Seqwater Executive General Manager for Infrastructure Planning and Capital Delivery, Sarah Dixon, said the company was proud to mark this major milestone in the improvement project, helping to ensure long term water supply reliability for the Sunshine Coast region of Australia.
Scrivener Dam The National Capital Authority in Canberra is carrying
out major strengthening works at one of the capital city’s most important water infrastructure assets, Scrivener Dam. Constructed in 1963, the concrete gravity dam impounds the Molonglo River to form Lake Burley Griffin which has become an important recreational and commercial facility. And that’s why a key challenge for the project will be to maintain the function of the
22 | December 2025 |
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lake while undertaking the works downstream. Following a dam safety review in 2016, structural risks were identified with Scrivener Dam’s dissipator under flood conditions which could result in it failing and ultimately failure of the dam itself. GHD was responsible for the design of the works which includes: Installation of 700 new, 8-12m long double corrosion protected anchors in the foundation rock beneath the dissipator. A new 500mm reinforced concrete slab constructed over the top of the existing basin and tied into the new anchors.
Reconstruction of baffle blocks on top of the new concrete slab. Installation of erosion protection on the downstream abutments of the dam. Seymour Whyte Constructions were announced as the head contractor for the construction phase and works started in April 2025.
Strengthening North Pine Upgrades are also taking place at Seqwater’s North
Pine Dam in Queensland. Work to strengthen the 45-year-old structure started in March 2024 and is expected to be finished in January 2027. SMEC has been working to ensure the 39m high mass concrete gravity dam meets the latest safety standards, enhancing its capacity to withstand extreme weather events, as well as safeguarding the local community and water resources they depend on. Describing it as a piece of forward-thinking engineering, the company has introduced a series of innovative engineering solutions in post-tensioning, geology, and Building Information Modelling management, developing a comprehensive approach that improves both performance and long-term durability. SRG Global Civil Pty Ltd was selected to deliver initial strengthening works, as part of a more than A$69 million investment into the first stage of improvement works on the dam.
Tim McConnel, Manager for Water, Dams and
Hydro at SMEC says it has been rewarding to work on an asset where the community impact is so far- reaching, and project partners have been working collaboratively.
Cost reassessments At the beginning of October 2025, Snowy Hydro
directed its principal contractor, Future Generation Joint Venture, to carry out a comprehensive cost reassessment of the Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro project in New South Wales. Deemed necessary due to material cost pressures
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