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MAREEBA’s WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT UPGRADEAward winning innovation strikes the balance between environmental and financial sustainability. p.86
W at e r A r t i c l e
TO B-DOUBLE OR NOT TO B-DOUBLEHow a rural council is planning for its aged road network to meet current and future needs. p.10
F e at u r e a r t i c l e
ENGINEERING FOR PUBLIC WORKS
www.ipweaq.comISSUE No.8
QUEENSLAND URBAN DRAINAGE MANUALFOURTH EDITION
LAWFUL POINT OF DISCHARGEThe updated Queensland Urban Drainage Manual removes confusion about LPOD requirements. p.78
l e g a l a r t i c l e
CITY OF GOLD COAST’S AWARD SUCCESS The historic Sarawak Avenue Steel Footbridge awarded for engineering innovation and excellence. p.18
E X C E L L E N C E A W A R D S
E n g i n e e r i n g f o r P u b l i c W o r k s | D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 7
P A R T N E R S ENGINEERING FOR PUBLIC WORKS
E n g i n e e r i n g f o r P u b l i c W o r k s | D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 7
S U P P O R T E R S ENGINEERING FOR PUBLIC WORKS
E n g i n e e r i n g f o r P u b l i c W o r k s | D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 7
EDITOR’S NOTE:The 2017 IPWEAQ state conference held in Townsville, 24-26 October was our most successful to date with 347 delegates from 40 councils, 100 organisations and 48 exhibitors in attendance.
The December issue of Engineering for Public Works (EPW) is a celebration of the conference and features a selection of technical papers delivered across the two days including our Best Paper award winner, ‘To B-Double or not to B-Double’ by Mike Holeszko of Southern Downs Regional Council.
We’ve included photos of our valued Partners, exhibitors and sponsors and reviews of our special conference features including the inaugural Futures Challenge, second Great Debate, launch of the updated Queensland Urban Drainage Manual and release of ADAC version 5.0.
Our member profile features our 2017 Engineer of the Year, Mike Brady, who is well known to many of you, along with all of the winners announced at the Excellence Awards Gala Dinner held in conjunction with the state conference.
Also in this issue are all of our regular reports including the first from our new President Seren McKenzie and we introduce you to our new Board members, Branch Presidents and Branch Committee members.
I hope you enjoy this special conference issue. All of us at IPWEAQ wish you a very merry Christmas and we look forward to keeping you up to date with public works developments in Queensland in 2018.
Carlie Sargent Editor
CONTENTS ENGINEERING FOR PUBLIC WORKS | DECEMBER 2017
» Feature Articles: » To B-Double or not to B-Double ..................................... p 10 » Top honours for the City of Gold Coast ........................ p 18 » Blackwater Aquatic Centre ............................................ p 24 » 2017 Excellence Award Winners ................................... p 30 » Sustainability of local government ............................. p 32 » Shaping the future of Cape York .................................... p 34 » 2017 Futures Challenge .................................................. p 56 » Lawful point of discharge .............................................. p 76
» Technical Focus: » Sustainable approach to maintaining low
trafficked surfaced roads............................................. p 50 » Lime stabilization of subgrades .................................... p 69
» IPWEAQ News: » President’s Report ............................................................. p 6 » New IPWEAQ Board ............................................................... p 8 » Member News ....................................................................... p 9 » CEO’s Report....................................................................... p 22 » Member Profile ................................................................. p 38 » Professional Development Update ................................ p 66 » Emerging Leader Profile ................................................. p 88 » Native Title and Cultural Heritage Portal .................. p 90 » Western Roads wrap-up .................................................. p 92 » CQ President’s Report ...................................................... p 96 » NQ President’s Report ...................................................... p 98 » SEQ President’s Report .................................................. p 100 » SWQ President’s Report ................................................. p 102 » Young IPWEAQ Chair’s Report ........................................ p 104 » Vale Col Dziewicki ........................................................... p 106
» QLDWATER NEWS » CEO’s Report....................................................................... p 81 » Toowoomba’s best tasting water .................................. p 82 » Mareeba’s wastewater innovation ................................ p 84
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INFORMS. CONNECTS. REPRESENTS. LEADS.
Become a Member
www.ipweaq.com
Benefits
Members enjoy a strong sense of community through our proactive branch network.
IPWEAQ technical products are widely-adopted and are leading-edge.
An IPWEAQ excellence award is highly sought after.
IPWEAQ’s comprehensive professional development program is innovative and exceeds the needs of members and industry.
IPWEAQ upholds professional standards as an RPEQ assessor.
Our quarterly e-journal is valued for its technical and industry-relevant content.
IPWEAQ conferences are must-attend events.
IPWEAQ influences government and industry.
Our Knowledge Centre is an essential resource for anyone involved in public works in Queensland.
Join NowMembership of IPWEAQ is open to anyone actively engaged in the delivery of public works and services in Queensland including technical officers, draughtsmen and women, supervisors, fleet managers, project managers, councillors or consultants.
IPWEAQ members receive preferential rates for attendance at conferences, professional development, branch events, RPEQ assessments, publications, technical products.
Apply online atwww.ipweaq.com /membership
EnquiriesCarlie Sargent Director, Member Services
07 3632 6801 [email protected]
Membership feesHalf year (December 2017 to 30 June 2018)
member
$137.50 plus GST
under 35 members
$82.50 plus GST
Use your post nominalsMIPWEAQ (Member) FIPWEAQ (Fellow)
Our water directorate (qldwater) strengths the urban water industry to maintain and improve the safety, health, wellbeing and sustainability of Queenslandcommunities.
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p r e s i d e n t ’ s R e p o r t
As I write my first column as the President of IPWEAQ, I am reflecting on how quickly time flies with two months of my 24 month term already behind me but I am thoroughly enjoying every moment of it. The IPWEAQ Board composition saw a number of changes at the AGM with several long-standing Board members retiring. We thank them for their valuable contributions and commitment over the years.
The first meeting of the new Board was held the day after the state conference in Townsville and I am very confident the Institute will continue to move forward to grasp our current and future challenges under the direction of our CEO and Board.
The success of the projects we deliver and the people who shine in our industry were celebrated at the 2017 IPWEAQ gala awards ceremony and dinner. There were many exciting and innovative projects nominated evidencing how we, as engineering professionals, continue to find the most efficient and effective ways to deliver for our communities. The ‘people awards’ were bestowed on very worthy winners and it was clear the audience agreed wholeheartedly. All winners celebrated their successes in true IPWEAQ fashion and I am sure they will continue to take pride in the recognition of their
achievements. It really was an excellent night and very special for our community.
In the coming months, our four branch committees together with the Board and our CEO will meet and refresh our strategic objectives to assist Leigh as she plots a course over the coming years for IPWEAQ. This is an important process for the organisation to ensure we remain relevant in our industry, and continue to deliver the tools, information and resources that enable our members to succeed which then transforms our communities. This is something we, as public works engineers and technicians, are very proud to do.
The release of the updated QUDM has proven highly popular with supporting training around the regions and in-house in high demand. This is a long awaited release which provides much needed support to engineering in expectations and solutions for urban drainage concerns. Without the dedication and hard work of our Working Groups and Steering Committees, seminal publications like QUDM would be very difficult to produce, so once again I would like to thank all those involved in this iteration of QUDM.
A Steering Committee has been formed and has now met a few times for the Complete Streets review. This is another important
document for our industry. With Ged Brennan chairing this committee of high calibre experts in their fields, we look forward to updates on the progress of the proposed new manual for street planning and design. Given the scope of the project outlined by IPWEAQ Fellow, John Derbyshire, expectations on the significance of what this committee will develop is very high. The Board will review this at its first meeting early in 2018 and we will invite key stakeholders to contribute to the funding of this future-focussed publication.
I wish you all a safe Christmas and holiday period, and I look forward to catching up with everyone at our regional branch events in 2018 but firstly, I invite you to join us this year at the President’s Breakfast in Brisbane, 9 February 2018.
Seren McKenzie President
Merry Christmas and happy new year FROM ALL OF US AT IPWEAQ
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MS QUEENSLANDPRESIDENT’S CHARITY
PRESIDENT’S BREAKFAST
IPWEAQ appreciates the valuable contribution of our Partners and Supporters to the public works sector in Queensland.
Please join the IPWEAQ President, board members and staff at this members’ only event to celebrate the ongoing success of these partnerships at the President’s Breakfast. Friday 9 February, 7.00am - 9.00am Captain's Room, The Pavilion, Allan Border Field 1 Greg Chappell Street, Albion Cost: $50 plus GST
Register now at: https://ipweaq.eventsair.com/QuickEventWebsitePortal/presidents-breakfast-2018/event-website/ExtraContent/ContentPage?page=1
In support of the President’s Charity
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introducing your new IPWEAQ board
Seren McKenzie PresidentManager, Infrastructure Planning and Design Lockyer Valley Regional Council [email protected]
Gerard ReadBoard member at-largeManaging Director GWR Civil Engineering Management [email protected]
Angela FrySWQ Branch PresidentManager – Toowoomba & South West Region GHD [email protected]
Craig Murrell Vice PresidentM1 Consulting Tannum Sands [email protected]
Andrew RyanBoard member at-largePrincipal Sabre Management Solutions [email protected]
Celisa FaulknerCQ Branch PresidentEngineer - Networks Gladstone Regional Council [email protected]
Bruce GardinerNQ Branch PresidentGeneral Manager Infrastructure Services Cairns City Council [email protected]
Raad JarjeesSEQ Branch PresidentProgram and Technical Services Manager Infrastructure Services Department, Ipswich City Council [email protected]
Chief Executive Officer
Leigh CunninghamIPWEAQ [email protected]
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iNTELLIGENTMACHINE
CONTROL
PEOPLE POWERED TECHNOLOGYKOMATSU i-EXCAVATOR & i-DOZERS
1300 566 287 | komatsu.com.au | /KomatsuAustralia/
Congratulations to Dwayne Honor (Project Manager - Bundaberg CBD Revitalisation & CHAS) and his wife Merinda who welcomed baby William Alec Honor on 2 October 2017.
Congratulations to Aaron Meehan who has taken up the position of General Manager Infrastructure with South Burnett Regional Council.
Congratulations to Jessica Kahl on her new role as Civil Engineer with Aurecon.
Farewell to Paul Keech previously of Gladstone Regional Council as he returns to the City of Shoalhaven in NSW. We wish you all the best!
Member News
Please share your news with us including births, marriages, jobs
and achievements. Contact Leigh.Cunningham@
ipweaq.com
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Mike Holeszko Principal Engineering Coordinator, Southern Downs Regional Council
BEST PAPER WINNER – 2017 STATE CONFERENCE, TOWNSVILLE
1.0 SynopsisRoad infrastructure is a critical link to provide and grow sustainability for a rural inland Council. So how does a Council go about ensuring an aged road network will meet the current and future needs? It does so by inspired leadership and engaging with the community and other government instrumentalities. Using this feedback, Council can build the strategic program of works required to address the priorities.
Businesses need every advantage in being profitable and freight cost is a large component. To shift 1000t would take a semi 42 trips whereas a standard B Double would do it 28 trips.
Southern Downs Regional Council (SDRC) knows that sustainability is about growth both in new business, enhancing current businesses, and attracting a population to support this.
An aged rail network exists and while Council has made efforts to connect to the proposed inland rail network, it is more likely than in the short to medium term the transport of goods will be by road. The advent of the Brisbane West Wellcamp Airport has already and will continue to make further inroads to local and Asian markets by the use of air freight.
Our Mayor Tracey Dobie decided the time was ripe to engage with companies and freighters to flesh out where SDRC needed to strategically focus within its road network. In this workshop she said “As a Council we are conscious that our horticultural, agricultural and livestock industries are growing and that greater and more frequent access will be required.”
This paper provides a synopsis of the presentations and discusses the outcomes of a Heavy Vehicle Workshop that was conducted in Warwick on the 15 February 2017.
The format of the workshop was: Invite and engage with a wide
variety of businesses and freighters.
Introduce them to the National Heavy Vehicle Regulators (NHVR).
Explain what NHVR is and what
they do. Explain the assessment process
for determining B Double and Road Train Routes.
Explain what the engineering assessment role of SDRC and Transport and Main Roads (TMR).
Examining a case study of where TMR, SDRC, and the applicant worked together.
Explain the difference between “As of Right” and “Permitted” routes and the purposes of conditioning these routes.
Finally a “question and answer” session followed by a workshop to determine what routes need to be considered for upgrading to suit the growing economy of SDRC.
The day was very successful in that: It provided the stakeholders
The opportunity to communicate with the regulators face to face,
A chance to learn about the NHVR system and see how it connected with their business,
A chance to engage with peers facing similar challenges,
To provide the mayor, councillors, and SDRC staff an opportunity to discuss
To B-Double or not to B-Double.
That is the question? FEATURE ARTICLE
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sustainability issues in getting produce from the “last mile” to its destination.
An opportunity for Council to demonstrate its leadership in forging a strategic direction for Southern Downs to support economic growth.
2.0 A Bit About Southern Downs:Southern Downs Regional Council (SDRC) is a council approximately 160km west of Brisbane. It also has a southern border with NSW and easterly with the Great Dividing Range. It has an area of approximately 7,120 km2 and a population of approximately 36,000 people. More details about our region can be found on our Council’s website http://www.sdrc.qld.gov.au/our-region/region-information.
European settlement dates from the 1840s, with land used mainly for sheep and cattle grazing and timber-getting. Numerous small townships were established from the late 1850s. Growth took place during the late 1800s and early 1900s, spurred by mining from the 1850s, the opening of railway lines from the 1870s, and the establishment of many orchards. Expansion resumed in the immediate post-war period, particularly in the main townships of Stanthorpe and Warwick. The population declined during the 1970s and early 1980s, largely due to changes in agricultural practices. The population of the Council area gradually increased from the early 1990s, rising from about 28,300 in 1991 to about 33,400 in 2011.
SDRCs area is predominantly rural, with numerous small townships. The largest townships are Warwick and Stanthorpe, with smaller
townships at Allora, Killarney, Wallangarra and Yangan. Rural land is used largely for agriculture, particularly sheep and cattle grazing, orcharding and vegetable and grain growing. Forestry and viticulture are also important industries.
3.0 Soil CompositionSRDC mapped the soil types of its region to obtain an understanding of the likely subgrade types and how that impact on pavement design. The orange area of the map depicts heavy black soils which are ideal for agricultural purposes. These clays are prone to shrink up to 40% and cause issues with rutting and cracking. The blue area represents granite soils which in the most part are good subgrades for road building. Within this area the main industries are winaries, orchards, vegetables, and small cottage industry. The green areas are mostly trap rock or loamy soils which also provide suitable road
subgrades and are used mainly for grazing. There are some 16 broad types of industry across the region.
4.0 The SDRC Road NetworkWhile roads existed prior to World War 2 they were mostly gravel or soil in nature. Their locality was most likely determined by horse drawn vehicles and proximity to water and feed. Towns were spaced based on how far a horse could be ridden in a day. The advent of bitumen roads came in the post war years and typically the 12 foot or 16 foot widths depending on traffic volumes. Typically traffic volumes were low.
5.0 So what has changed since the War Years?
The simplistic answer is that producers are looking to get freight from the “last mile” to market by the most efficient means. Traffic volumes have increased due to the prosperity of the region. Agricultural practices have become far more
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mechanised and efficient. More intense production practices such as feed lotting have also added to the increased volume of freight. The advent of the B-Double now means that shifting 1000 tonnes can be done in 28 trips by B-Doubles rather than conventional semi-trailer. This presents huge savings in salary, fuel, and wear and tear on vehicles. Typically modern prime movers are far more powerful and able to shift loads at regulatory speed limits as opposed to 80% of that value in years gone by.
The shift to more freight efficient vehicles (FEV) has resulted in changes to regulatory standards. Also there is more pressure on road asset managers to determine if these FEVs are able to traverse the road network safely and without compromise to the road assets including structures such as bridges.
An example of the current pressures on industry is that concrete delivery trucks in cities are becoming larger in capacity. The reason is that traffic congestion is influencing delivery times. The larger capacity allows more concrete to be delivered within the time frame as well as wages savings with fewer drivers being held up in traffic streams.
6.0 The New Freight Task and
FEVsSDRC has two major highways that service the region. These highways facilitate freight movement from the southern states into Queensland including freight from the west. Within the region commodities such as fruit, vegetables, grains and livestock are being shifted by B-Doubles. These industries require commodities such as fuels, fertilizers, machinery, to be transported to farm. To a lesser extent minerals, sandstone, and military equipment is also being transported by FEVs.
7.0 Road infrastructure is critical to provide linkage and grow sustainability for an inland council
The Mayor requested that SDRC host a Heavy Vehicle Workshop. The aim was to bring producers, transporters, and government and other agencies together to discuss the appropriate steps and responsibilities for applying and getting approval for heavy vehicle access; and to identify what the priorities are for producers and transporters in our region. As a Council we are conscious that our horticultural, agricultural and livestock industries are growing and that greater and more frequent access will be required; and we want to ensure that all parties are in agreement on what
has to be done.
8.0 The Workshop:The workshop was held at the Warwick Town Hall on the 15th February 2017 at 12:30pm with closure at 3:30pm.
The first one and a half hours were dedicated to the following: a welcome by Mayor Tracy Dobie informing the audience of the system and how it works, who controls the application/approval process, who provides input to the assessment, and finally a case example of working together with industry. The remaining one and a half hours were dedicated to the workshop. Questions were fielded from the audience to obtain clarification before moving into a workshop to examine which routes require Heavy Vehicle access. The outputs of both sections are discussed further in this report.
The workshop was attended by approximately fifty five people including Councillors, SDRC staff and stakeholders from the freight industry.
9.0 Synopsis of Sessions:9.1 Opening address by Mayor
Tracy Dobie:The Mayor opened the workshop using a slide show to express the outcomes she desired for the workshop. The desired outcome was working towards a 10 year
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strategic plan as to what roads were important to open to freight efficient vehicles. As some of the roads may not currently be suitable, the workshop would provide the basis to formulate a strategic plan. The Mayor highlighted some generic possible deficiencies such as narrow roads, weak structures, and non-gravel shoulders. She also informed the group as to the nature of soils in our region. These soils vary in their capability to support heavy vehicle loading. The Mayor also presented a map showing the use of land within the shire.
9.2 Presentations by NHVR:Kerry Plater from NHVR, who is their Principal Engineer Access, presented the next couple of sessions. Kerry gave an explanation as to who NHVR are and their legislative power.
NHVR’s role is about promoting public safety, managing impact of heavy vehicles on the environment, road infrastructure and public amenity, promoting industry productivity and efficiency in road transport of goods and passengers, and encouraging and promoting productive, efficient, innovative and safe business practices. The enforcement of the law in this area is undertaken by Police and authorised officers.
Kerry then gave a pictorial view on the type of vehicles (including the regulation vehicles such as rigid trucks and semi-trailers) that use our roads and what restrictions are placed on them.
Using http://gis.nhvr.gov.au/journey planner/ he then showed the audience the B-Double and road train maps and the permissible roads for the different vehicle types.
The next presentation was about obtaining permits and the process. Stage one is for the operator is to plan the journey using the journey planner and then lodge an application. NHVR then receive and evaluate the application. The application is then forwarded to the road manager/s to review, make a decision and set appropriate conditions if needed to protect assets and road users. Kerry then when through a series of slides providing more detail.
Another method of access was then discussed called Pre-approvals. Pre-approval is the process of allowing a targeted vehicle type access to an inclusive list of roads or an area (with or without excluded structures/roads). These approvals can be subject to regular review, meaning they could be amended or withdrawn. The duration is also flexible. An example might be a special purpose vehicle (SPV) such as a crane. Types of roads that may be considered are roads in industrial areas, a heavy vehicle by-pass or roads that connect with Approved Routes.
9.3 Presentations by Local Government Association Queensland (LGAQ):
This presentation was delivered by Robert Chow (Heavy Vehicle Access Liaison Officer) from LGAQ. Robert’s presentation was based upon the Memorandum of Agreement between LGAQ and NHVR, “Improving the Safety and Productivity of Queensland’s Local Road Freight Network”.
In the first part of Robert’s presentation he discussed the benefits of emerging Freight Efficient Vehicles (FEV). Within the table from http://www.truck.net.au/resource-library/truck-impact-chart-
second-edition he demonstrated that to shift 1000 tonnes a normal semitrailer would take 42 trips as opposed to a 19m B-double which shift the same material in 28 trips. This is obviously a large savings in wages, truck wear and tear and fuel.
He next discussed the process of route assessment. This is undertaken on a technical basis. Assets such as bridges, culverts and pavements are assessed on capacity to support the vehicle. Also included are geometric considerations. These checks are performed to ensure that the vehicle can negotiate the road network legally without compromising safety to other road users. Swept path, stacking distances at intersections and overtaking provisions are considered. Non road infrastructure elements such as amenity or public consultation are not included in this assessment.
The Australian Road Research Board (ARRB) have developed a route assessment tool called RAVRAT. This tool allows engineers to follow a process of assessment by answering a series of technical questions. It also provides the basis to determine what requirements or conditions need to be placed on a permit. For example if the applicant’s selected intersection is not suitable the Road Manager can ask this be upgraded before a permit is issued.
The last selection of slides covered “conditions”. Conditions are used to mitigate risks to road infrastructure, public amenity and safety. The first of three categories is the vehicle itself. There may be a requirement for additional safety equipment such
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as signage or warning devices. The second category is based on road conditions, examples could be reduced speed levels or centreline travel over bridges. The final category applies to travel conditions, an example here would be limiting travel to outside school hours or night time hours when there is less traffic.
9.4 Autoturn : A Demonstration of the tool:
Autoturn is a software based program that examines swept paths for vehicles both horizontally and vertically. A YouTube presentation was provided to the audience to demonstrate the power of the software. Essentially it checks if a vehicle type can negotiate some geometric parameters. The video can be found via the following link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQtvea4Keb4. For example using survey information or aerial photography, intersections can be checked to ensure the vehicle can stay within its lane.
9.5 Case example – Rodgers Creek Road Greymare:
This presentation was by Mike Holeszko (Maintenance Engineering Coordinator SDRC). The presentation was about a case example where the applicant, Transport and Main Roads (TMR), and SDRC worked together to achieve an outcome.
The applicant wanted to get a type 1 road train approved to bring in grain to a feedlot at Greymare (west of Warwick). A certain amount of engineering checks can be performed in the office using road video footage and aerial photography. To get the best outcome it is sometimes worthwhile asking the applicant to
conduct a field trial. The benefits are that all parties can examine the performance of the vehicle on the proposed network. All parties get a chance to discuss mitigation measures if risks are found.
The presentation contained slides about what engineers look for and also a plan view of one of the common intersections demonstrating swept paths for the proposed vehicle. This slide showed the vehicle was not able to stay within its lane while conducting a left hand turn out onto the Cunningham Highway. During the infield demonstration the rear wheels of the trailer left the bitumen onto no pavement shoulders. This compared well with the plan view done in the office.
To overcome this, an alternative council road could be used to allow empty vehicles to exit back onto the highway at a better intersection. The permit was issued for a 12 month period with conditions to allow use of roads for particular turning movements. A win-win situation for all.
9.6 Multi–combination Vehicles Route Assessment Process:
This presentation was by David Willis (Principal Engineer Operations TMR). They provided the audience a snap shot of what TMR does, the road network they look after, and an outline of their core business.
The discussion on route assessment was largely a reinforcement of previous presentations.
9.7 Question and Answer (Q&A) Session:
Mike Holeszko chaired a Q&A session where the audience had the chance to ask questions
about the previous sessions or seek further clarification from the panel of presenters and invited guests. Each table were allowed one question before progressing to the next table so that each table had a chance to interact. Notes were taken by council staff and the list of questions and answers is included with this article Generally this session was useful to explore more localised issues and gain further clarity on the presentations. This session had to be cut short to allow enough time to workshop the next session.
9.8 Workshop Session – Which roads should be strategically “as of right” or “permitted” routes:
The final session was a workshop session where the participants got the opportunity to provide input as to what roads they would like to see opened up to the larger vehicles. There were 7 tables set up with representatives from council or TMR at each table to help facilitate. A list of roads was developed and attached below. The series of maps that were handed out to each group for them to draw on have also been scanned and kept on Council’s network.
10.0 Workshop Evaluation and Where to From Here?
The feedback from all participants including presenters was they thought the workshop was very informative. It also allowed participants to network with fellow operators and discuss common issues. Operators were also able to put a face to the Regulators and Road Managers and feel comfortable to be able work through the access requirements.
The Q&A session was particularly useful in dispelling myths and
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clarifying the input from the various government departments.
Now that Council has a map of the areas requiring FEV access it will use this data to supplement the forward works program. FEV access will be one of the factors in prioritising works.
Heavy Vehicle Access Public Meeting, 15 Feburary 2017, Warwick Town Hall:Q. 1 If there are several operations on the same road why can’t we get “as of right” for that road?
Answer: Generally as of right will occur when road managers are satisfied that all risks have been mitigated. Till then it will operate under permit which enables Road Managers to control the number and type of operations on the road.
Q. 2 Whats the difference between a Road Manager and Road Authority?
Answer: A Road Manager is a specific term under NHVR to identify the Road Authority responsible for a particular road that a route approval is requested. A Road Authority as an example could be Transport and Main Roads or Southern Downs Regional Council.
Q. 3 If we want to apply for access to an individual property, what is the first step?
Answer – Informally you can talk with Council officers to gain advice before lodging a formal application with NHVR. Council will be happy to assist you with determining if the route is suitable and what conditions may be required. Council officers will use RAVRAT as a tool to assist you. Again RAVRAT is a formalised process
that prompts engineers to consider engineering and safety constrains that may apply to the proposed route. Please note that NHVR issue permits. Road Managers are consulted to determine if a route may be suitable. Enforcement of permits and non-road train / B Double routes is undertaken by the Police depending on which State you are in.
Q. 4 If time restrictions are going to be applied, can truck parking and rest areas with toilet facilities be provided?
Answer: Road authorities generally encourage transport operators to make use of private or commercial facilities such as the Caltex Truck Stop. TMR generally provide Heavy
Vehicle Rest Areas or informal rest areas where there are fatigue issues or no commercial activities. Council generally do not provide heavy vehicle rest stops. Informal rest areas are provided by way of vacant stockpile sites however these do not have toilet facilities.
Q. 5 Time restrictions – night hours Vs daylight hours – why?
Answer: One way of mitigating risk is to condition the permit so that no travel during school/school bus hours or even at night when traffic volumes are lower. This is more so used for wide loads that have a tendency to bank up traffic behind them or require the oncoming traffic to pull over on the road verge.
Workshop session on which roads should be opened to “as of right” or “permit” vehicles.
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Q. 6 Why isn’t “bigger” always better and more desirable? Industry is chasing performance and efficiency. Why wouldn’t you grant access to a bigger truck?
Answer: there are a number of assessment guidelines that have to be adhered to. E.g. will it actually fit on the road. Performance Based Standards etc. The purpose of this workshop is also to develop strategic plans as to which road networks could be upgraded to facilitate the larger vehicles.
Q. 7 x tonnes to shift out of the district in a short period of time. Bigger trucks means less trucks on the roads. Are 2 small trucks better than 1 big truck in regard to safety?
Answer: It is a matter of determining risk. Semi-trailers are allowed on all roads as a default vehicle unless the road is load limited. A lot also depends on the drivers’ skill and attitude to safety which can be a large variable. So in determining if a larger vehicle will fit, it is more about the vehicle characteristics assuming a competent operator. That is why the RAVRAT process is used.
Q. 8 If b-double access permit is applied for in regard to a particular route does the individual have to provide registration numbers for the permit?
Answer: You can sub-contract but applicant must take responsibility to meet the conditions of the permit.
Q. 9 Who applies for the permit – the landholder or the transport operator?
Answer: The permit applies to the vehicle. If the vehicle is owned by the landholder then it is him. If sub
contract it is the vehicle owner.
Q. 10 Grain harvest on black soil roads – could we get a harvest permit – if it is associated with a registration number, how do we cope with 14 or 15 trucks in a day?
Answer: Applied for permit to remove grain using 14 or 15 trucks a day. Identify the vehicles. Sub-contractors permit could be worded to allow for this. Identify vehicle OR type of vehicle being used. Local government Act provides powers for local and state governments to construct a road. Council has a road network plus tracks on reserves. Council would not improve a road reserve necessarily to approve b-double access. In NSW they sometimes grade a road for the farmers to use alongside the public road. Roads like Pettigrew Crossing and Willets road – formation work on an occasional basis. If a permit was approved it may be conditioned to mitigate risk or damage.
Q. 11 Would council consider developing the road if landholder offered to contribute $200,000 to have it sealed?
Answer: yes, it has been done in the past.
Q. 12 does same apply to TMR roads?
Answer: Short answer is “Yes”. Consider it on a case by case basis and usually low traffic numbers.
Q. 13 Multi combination access – swing area and crossing on the other side of the road. A responsible operator/driver will make decisions to do this safely. How is this different to businesses in town where you have trucks that have to cross over the centre lines to gain access to businesses?
Answer: Toowoomba Council has put in some water bollards to teach drivers about turning. Acknowledging that there are great drivers, the rules have to accommodate the skills of average drivers. Drivers have to abide by the law, as do Councils/TMR when it comes to road standards.
Save the DatesSEQ Branch Technical SeriesAlex Fraser Facility TourNudgee Beach22 February 2018 SWQ Branch ConferenceGoondiwindi 15-16 March 2018
NQ Branch ConferenceCairns 18-20 April 2018
CQ Branch ConferenceBarcaldine 14-16 June 2018
For more information contact Amanda Mikeleit on 3632 6802 or [email protected]
http://www.ipweaq.com/events
“I just want to take this chance to say a huge thank you and well done to you and your team. Janelle and I thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of the conference. There was obviously a huge amount of work that went in behind the scenes.”
Mike Holeszko, Southern Downs Regional Council
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STATE CONFERENCE PODCASTS
2017INFORMS. CONNECTS. REPRESENTS. LEADS.
“This was my first time to be involved personally with the IPWEAQ. The State Conference was a great event, well organised and with a great level of attendance. The team from IPWEAQ were very approachable and worked hard to deliver a highly professional and worthwhile event. We had plenty of chances to show off our new products and met many new people at the networking events. We look forward to being more involved as an industry partner to the IPWEAQ in the years ahead.” Simon Bottomley, General Manager Australia, EJ
“Thank you also for a great State Conference in Townsville last week. It was a well-received event and your speakers were excellent. The venue was also very pleasant and a lot of information sharing and networking were conducted.” Pierre Neethling, Gladstone Regional Council
“Thank you for a great conference. The staff of IPWEAQ have overseen a wonderful event. Please pass on my congratulations. Your MC was an excellent choice and I would support him being retained for more conferences.” Bill Cuthbertson, WTC Consulting Pty Ltd
“Congratulations to you and the rest of the IPWEAQ team on a successful 2017 State Conference.” Nathaniel Tunney, Board of Professional Engineers Queensland
Our 2017 state conference held in Townsville was our most successful conference to date with 347 delegates from 40 councils, 100 organisations and 48 exhibitors in attendance. If you were unable to attend the conference, you can now subscribe to the conference proceedings for 12.5 CPD hours. Listen to the audio (podcasts) while viewing the accompanying PowerPoint presentation or read the accompanying paper.
Paid delegates can access the podcasts now as part of their conference registration. Login to the Knowledge Centre using your registered email and password. Any queries re access, please contact Mark Lamont [email protected] 07 3632 6803.
Costs: $600 plus GST for members and $900 plus GST for non-members or join before 31 December for $137.50 plus GST.
JOIN HERE
“Congratulations on another successful state conference. The annual event offers delegates a strong technical program and an important opportunity to establish and maintain professional contacts which is vital for many public works professionals working in small organisations. Looking at the list of delegates from the 2017 conference it was clear to see the program had broad appeal in both the public and private sector and I personally found papers interesting and informative. This year’s Townsville conference continued the trend of highly organised and well attended events and is a credit to you and your team at IPWEAQ.” Ged Brennan, Managing Director, GenEng Solutions and Past President, IPWEAQ
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Alton Twine Director City Infrastructure, City of Gold Coast
The historic Sarawak Avenue Steel Footbridge over Currumbin Creek on the Gold Coast has been named the overall winner for the 2017 IPWEAQ Excellence Awards for a $3 million restoration project managed by the City of Gold Coast.
The 114-year-old bridge boasts a rich history and holds significant
heritage value to the Gold Coast. The bridge was constructed in 1903 and was originally a steam train crossing for the South Coast line, which operated from 1889-1964 carrying people and freight from Brisbane to Coolangatta. The 172-metre-long structure still retains original wrought and cast-iron components and was repurposed in 1994 to a dedicated pedestrian crossing. It is the only bridge still in existence on the historical South Coast railway line.
Despite ongoing maintenance
works, structural components of the bridge continued to deteriorate. Results of further investigations and testing confirmed the bridge was suffering from severe corrosion and had nearly reached the end of its service life. Extensive bridge renewal works were completed in 2016.
The renewal works included planning, detailed design, procurement and construction activities, and achieved the following project outcomes:
City of Gold Coast takes top honours at the 2017
IPWEAQ Excellence Awards! FEATURE ARTICLE
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Improved level of service to the community through the provision of a new three metre widened precast concrete deck.
Structurally sound and reliable bridge providing critical connectivity to local schools and amenities.
City of Gold Coast project team members Tiffany Parker, Senior Structural Engineer and Yvonne Ulas, Coordinator Transport Structures played a critical role in planning, designing and delivering the project.
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Enhanced safety features including cyclist friendly balustrade and LED lighting incorporated into the balustrade.
Retaining heritage value and local history by rehabilitation of wrought iron girders and cross beams displayed as heritage features.
Extended useful life of the structure deferring the need for costly replacement.
Major reduction in ongoing maintenance costs.
The City of Gold Coast identified the opportunity to improve the asset functionality in line with the City’s Transport Strategy by the provision of a widened and safer active travel transport link. The project team also recognised the need to preserve the heritage features of the original bridge whilst making any new work look modern.
The City of Gold Coast’s conservation efforts have ensured that the life and historic value of the bridge has been extended for future generations to enjoy.
View the 2017 award winners on page 30-31 of this issue and in the commemorative e-book coming soon!
GOLD COAST STATE CONFERENCEThe Marriott, Surfers Paradise | 10-12 October 2018
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY OF GOLD COAST
The original Currumbin Creek Railway Bridge drawing dated 1902
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Congratulations to our two teams for another interesting and entertaining debate. The negative team had a victory this year with 60% of the votes registered by delegates using the Conference App.
Teams:Team for the Affirmative (smart cities are not that smart):1. Bruce Gardiner, General
Manager Infrastructure Services, Cairns Regional Council
2. Sandra Burke, District Director (Far North), North Queensland Region Program Delivery and Operations, Department of Transport and Main Roads
3. Ren Niemann, Partner – Head of Government Services, McCullough Robertson
Team for the Negative (smart cities are smart):1. Andrew Ryan, Director
Infrastructure Services, Sunshine Coast Council
2. Jenny Hill, Mayor, Townsville City Council
3. Alton Twine, Director City Infrastructure, City of Gold Coast
Moderator: Alan Patching
If you would like to participate in next year’s debate on the Gold Coast and/or have a topic to suggest, please contact Leigh Cunningham [email protected]. 07 3632 6810
2017 IPWEAQ Great Debate - smart cities are not that smart
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Another busy year has passed us by capped off once again with a successful state conference held in Townsville in October. We had a record number of delegates, councils represented, organisations and exhibitors in attendance which sets the scene for an even bigger event next year in partnership with the City of Gold Coast.
This year’s conference saw the launch of the inaugural Futures Challenge with four final year civil engineering students presenting their theses on poster boards in the trade exhibition then presenting on stage to delegates at the close of the second day. All three participating universities: JCU, USQ and QUT should be very proud of their students who did an exceptional job. Public speaking can be daunting for even the most experienced professional so it is great to see our upcoming engineers developing their presentation skills early in their careers. The Great Debate returned this year with the topic, ‘smart cities are not that smart’ which was won by the negative team including the mayor of Townsville, Jenny Hill, Andrew Ryan (Sabre Consulting) and Alton Twine (City of Gold Coast). The affirmative team (Bruce Gardiner, Sandra Burke and Ren Niemann) did their best to at least entertain delegates and earned 40% of the vote. If you would like to participate in next year’s debate
and/or have a topic worthy of an engineer’s argument, please do not hesitate to contact me.If you missed the state conference, you can access the podcasts of all 42 presentations including the Futures Challenge, Great Debate, keynotes and plenary sessions and 30 papers across 12 streams by subscribing to ‘state conference proceedings (podcasts)’. The Knowledge Centre was launched earlier this year and has become a critical resource for those involved in the public works sector in Queensland. The sheer volume of information made available since the inception of the internet has made it impossible for single-entity institutions such as libraries to manage it all let alone for individuals to keep up with the flow of information that comes just via email. And we learned from Dr Alan Duffy’s keynote presentation at the 2017 state conference that upcoming telescopes such as the Square Kilometre Array will create an internet’s worth of data each and every day. One of the key values that a professional institute like IPWEAQ must provide for is access to valid, reliable information that is sector-specific; its collection, storage and dissemination. The value of the Knowledge Centre is enhanced by the leading-edge thinking that goes into the presentations that are delivered at our conferences and the papers published in our journal.Next year’s state conference will be held at The Marriott, Surfers
Paradise in partnership with the City of Gold Coast which took out the overall winner award at the 2017 IPWEAQ excellence awards for the Sarawak Avenue Steel Footbridge Renewal. Following on from what will be a successful Commonwealth Games in April, we’ll have an array of excellent projects for the conference technical tours including the Sarawak Avenue Bridge.Congratulations to all the winners at the 2017 excellence awards including Mike Brady (Engineer of the Year), Glenda Kirk (Woman in Engineering), Aaron Meehan (Young Engineer of the Year), Jeff Heit (Works Supervisor of the Year) and Frank Scheele (President’s Award). Another key role of IPWEAQ as a professional institute, is to ensure we deliver a program of continuing professional development that responds to the needs of our sector. Five new programs were launched this year with another six programs launching early in 2018 including the IPWEAQ Design School and the Leadership Toolkit series.It’s been a fantastic year for IPWEAQ and I’d like to thank our members, the Board, our staff, Partners, Supporters, exhibitors and sponsors for their contributions to our successes this year. This is a really exciting time to be involved and I look forward to the initiatives we will be delivering for you next year. Leigh CunninghamChief Executive Officer
C E O ’ s R e p o r t
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m e e t t h e t e a mCARLIE SARGENT Director, Member Services [email protected] manages the IPWEAQ Excellence Awards, Member Services and the RPEQ Assessment Scheme. Carlie has held a number of roles in professional associations, most recently with CPA Australia as the Queensland Director and Corporate Social Responsibility Manager and was previously the Manager of the Institute of Management Consultants.
ROSS GUPPY Director, Technical [email protected] has over 30 years’ experience in the road and transport infrastructure sector, including 28 years with the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR). During Ross’s time with TMR, he held various specialised engineering and senior executive roles, and was accountable for managing the Technical Documents Program.
MARK LAMONT Information Resource [email protected] Lamont has worked as a researcher/tutor in academia for the past decade. While completing his own doctoral thesis, he worked as a tutor/lecturer in the school of humanities at Griffith University and the University of Southern Queensland and is currently undertaking a Masters qualification in Information Science at Queensland University of Technology.
JOHANNA VANLING OFFICE [email protected] has a several years’ experience in administration roles both within the real estate and education sectors. Johanna oversees the operations of the IPWEAQ office and provides administrative support in the delivery of professional development, events, conferences, accounts and membership engagement.
AMANDA MIKELEIT Events [email protected] has managed corporate events in the professional services and insurance sectors for more than eight years. Amanda is responsible for the delivery of all IPWEAQ branch and state conferences and events and exhibition and sponsorship opportunities.
CRAIG MOSS Director, Professional and Career Development [email protected] has worked in the civil infrastructure industry since 1985, including senior roles in the government and private sectors. He combines 19 years’ practice as a technical professional with 12 years’ experience as a learning and development specialist to assist in the enhancement of practical knowledge and skills that benefit the individual and the employer.
JEANETTE SAEZ Accounts [email protected] has over 26 years bookkeeping/finance experience in both the private & government sectors. In 2000 she launched her own finance and administration consultancy which services a range of clients including IPWEAQ, Marling Group and Muir Marine Qld to name a few.
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Carol Vertigan-See Director, SEEC Project Management
Central Highlands Regional Council had promised the Blackwater community that they would never be without a community pool. In a town hit hard by the mining downturn, changing job markets, decreasing housing prices and recent floods, residents and businesses alike were looking forward to long awaited renovations to the aged, existing 40-year old facility. Works were confirmed, and funding secured, however the discovery of 270 “voids”, or effectively, an unregistered cemetery, halted any further developments and threatened to derail the much-needed community facility.
Shadowed by the imposing Blackdown Tablelands and known for its coal mining, Blackwater
was originally just a whistle-stop on the railway line inland from Rockhampton. Over the years Blackwater has grown to become an important service centre for visitors and residents. It has a real sense of community where they work hard and play hard.
At the heart of the community was the Blackwater Memorial pool complex. The 25m x 10m pool was constructed in 1968 by a local mining company, and in 1984 the addition of a 50m x 10m pool. Other buildings were added later
to create the only place to escape the harsh, dry Central Queensland heat.
But like many infrastructure assets over 40 years old, it had started to show its age. It was leaking and needed a refurbishment and Council was conscious that it was reaching the end of its useful life.
Planning was underway for work to be done and BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) as a major employer in town contributed $2 million to Council
From Potters Field – The Rise of the Blackwater Aquatic Centre FEATURE ARTICLE
Project Manager, Carol Vertigan-See receiving the 2017 IPWEAQ Excellence Award for Projects over $10 million
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to assist with the project. With the downturn in mining over the past 7 years, Blackwater had felt the drop in employment, the fall of real estate prices and people moving out of town. Council and BMA were keen to keep workers and their families in town, and to attract new ones. Promises were made that the pools would be all fixed.
All was going swimmingly until geo-radar site investigations found the pools were built over an un-marked cemetery. The Potters Field.
Further investigation found that some of the burial sites dated back to the 1880s, and were the final resting place of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.
Works were stopped and it appeared that before long the community would be without a pool.
After considering a range of options, Council made the decision to establish a new Aquatic Centre at the Hunter Street Sports Precinct. This was already the location of rugby league, rugby union, touch football, velodrome, netball, basketball, cricket, soccer, and an off-leash dog park. A new Blackwater Aquatic Centre would be the perfect addition to the precinct.
Whilst many were keen to get on and “just build it!” the project governance group wanted to ensure that the “right” facility was going to be built. Council then engaged Carol Vertigan-See from SEEC Project Management services to manage the project on their behalf.
The major challenge was to have a new pool built before the existing
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pool ‘failed’. There were also significant community concerns that the promises and consultation over the previous 10 years may not be actioned.
The council team together with BMA and other stakeholders agreed that the project needed to:
Represent value for money investment incorporating sustainability and innovation
Integrate with existing and proposed facilities to create a comprehensive sporting precinct
Create a focal point, a community meeting hub
Provide excellent levels of service and safety, and access for a range of users
With an estimated cost of $16 million Council also sought other funding sources and opportunities
to ease the major financial investment for construction, yet knowing full well that it would be the ongoing maintenance that would be the larger commitment.
Whilst deciding that the complex would include a 50m x 10 lane, a 25m x 6 lane pool, and a zero-depth splash pad, the project also had a range of site challenges including Native Title issues, highly reactive soil causing significant ground movement, high winds, long hot summers and cold winter, and poor water quality.
Liquid Blu Architects were engaged to lead a design team including an aquatic specialist and other engineering disciplines to prepare preliminary and detailed designs which would make the best use of the site.
Council conducted a two-phase procurement process with
expressions of interest mid 2015 and requested tenders from the shortlisted construction companies later that year. Meanwhile the team was preparing funding applications. The project centred on the finalisation of the design phase to coincide with funding announcements and prior to election caretaker period for local government elections early 2016.
Major risks for the project were that funding had to be secured before the construction contract could be awarded, as well as the possibility that a new council might change priorities. Meanwhile, the race had begun as the old pool slowly deteriorated.
In December 2015, Council secured $6.257 million from the Federal Government through the National Stronger Regions Fund. This, combined with Council’s investment and BMA’s
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contribution meant that the project was now achievable.
Hutchinson Builders were contracted for the construction phase with the first sod turned on 11th March 2016.
The Blackwater Aquatic Centre incorporates:
50m Competition Pool:• 50m x 10 lane • Entry ramp
25m Program Pool:• 25m x 6 lane with entry ramp
and teaching ledge• Heated• Fully covered with fixed walls
on two sides and flexible curtain walls on others
Zero - Depth Splash Pad: • Interactive water play elements• Bench style hobs• Shade structures
Together with:• Expansive roof covering all
of 25m and partially covering 50m pool
• 2 amenities blocks (1 dual access from sporting fields)
• Entrance, kiosk, Managers’ office
• Control room • Plant rooms• Community meeting room• 3 x 27000 litre rainwater tanks• Car park• 60KW Solar farm
The design itself took inspiration from the Blackdown Tablelands area, and features imposing ochre red rammed earth walls.
Constructed by rammed earth wall specialists from local materials sourced from the Sapphire Gemfields, 40 kilometres west of Emerald, the walls are created by mixing cement, fixative and a little water and rammed with pneumatic plates to form a solid mass. Not only are they aesthetically beautiful, they provide a thermal mass great for the heat of summer, have long life and easy to maintain.
Faced with the challenges of highly reactive soil the choice of pool construction method was pivotal. A focus on subsoil drainage and preventing any water seeping around the pools the design incorporates bentonite fabric sheeting and no-fines gravel to encase the pools and special engineering of the concourses and foundations.
The pre-fabricated, myrtha technology pools for the 25m and 50m pools was selected as superior to the traditional concrete and tile for a similar financial investment to tolerate the likely soil movement in this environment.
The pools are constructed on a stainless-steel buttress support system is installed onto a concrete base. Each precision designed, pre-coated panel is then erected onto the buttress and locked together. This technology can be completed more quickly by specialist installers than a traditional concrete and tile pool, is self-supporting and enables perfect waterproofing.
The construction team, Council, project and contract managers all worked closely together to achieve the completion of the facility ahead of schedule and beyond expectations. Working
cooperatively, and celebrating successes along the way enabled the team to deliver an outstanding result.
Less than a year after the sod turning on Saturday 4 March 2017, the new Blackwater Aquatic opened with a smoking ceremony performed by the Gaangalu Nation people. Over 1,000 people came through the gate to take their first dip in the new pool.
The old pools are now decommissioned and the future of the old site is currently under discussion.
The New aquatic centre is THE place to be. The lanes are full of swimmers, children play under the spray of the splashpad, parents and grandparents watch from large open green spaces. The facility hosts swimming meets, birthday parties, training squads and learn to swim classes. The community meeting room provides the perfect venue with a backdrop of blue water and green lawns for a variety of user groups. Other sporting teams from the precinct make joint use of the amenities, carpark and landscaped areas.
Whilst the new aquatic centre is a state of the art, world class facility, it is also visually beautiful, environmentally sustainable and highly functional. But most importantly, it has created the community hub and is a major drawcard to the town. Central Highlands Regional Council has made a splash in the swimming and aquatic sector and hopes you will visit soon to experience for yourself.
Central Highlands Regional Council TOP LEARNINGS from the
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new Blackwater Aquatic Centre project:
• Spend the time to define the desired outcomes to be achieved. The level of effort put into the front end of the project is proportional to the likelihood of success.
• Look for opportunities to maximise the project value by working with other user facility groups to complement other facility developments.
• Strong and visible governance of the project from the beginning with true involvement in the decision making. Good project management to support all of the team is essential.
• Surround yourself with expertise in the areas you need it. It takes a team to achieve these outcomes.
• Leadership of a project such as this takes conscience, bravery, and risk taking as well as mutual respect, honesty and open communication.
• Be conscious of, and celebrate the successes of a project that goes well. It is a reflection on all involved.
The Blackwater Aquatic Centre was awarded IPWEAQ’s Excellence Award for Projects over $10 million in 2017. Judges were impressed that a small regional council undertook such a significant project and delivered an excellent, visually striking facility for the community. They were impressed at the pre-fabricated technology used and noted that the project substantially improved existing systems in order for Council to cater for such a large complex project.
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www.ipweaq.com
Continuing your professional developmentAll programs can be customised to meet your specific needs and delivered at your preferred location.
Contact Craig Moss 07 3632 6805 [email protected] or register online atwww.ipweaq.com/courses
Professional Development
IPWEAQ Design School
QUDM Workshop
Understanding EDD applications
Intersection design
Asset Management
Permanent safety barrier design
Managing risk on lower order roads
Leadership toolkit series
Transformational leadership – developing high potential leaders
Essential (technical) leadership – from technical professional to effective leader
The emerging leader
Construction safety and site risk management
Contract Management
PD packages
NEW PROGRAMS
Earn up to 45 CPD hours for preparing and presenting at an IPWEAQ state or branch conference.
Expressions of Interest open now for 2018 conferences.
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Gala awards dinner proudly sponsored by Premise
Twenty-one Queensland councils were awarded for excellence at this year’s IPWEAQ Excellence Awards.
The awards recognise councils and individuals who have demonstrated best practice and innovation in public works projects across Queensland.
Twenty awards were presented in front of 350 guests at the gala dinner and awards ceremony held at the Ville Resort, Townsville on 25 October 2017.
IPWEAQ congratulates all winners and thanks nominees, judges and our sponsors.
The 2017 awards commemorative e-book celebrating winners and nominees will be released early in 2018 along with details for the 2018 awards: www.ipweaq.com/awards.
Photos of the gala awards dinner including photo booth images are available to view and download at http://www.ipweaq.com/2017-state-conference-photos
For more information about the IPWEAQ Excellence Awards contact [email protected] or 3632 6801.
Mike Brady Toowoomba Regional Council Engineer of the Year (sponsored by 12d Solutions)
Jeff Heit Toowoomba Regional Council Works Supervisor
Glenda Kirk Mareeba Shire Council Woman in Engineering (sponsored by GHD)
Aaron Meehan Western Downs Regional Council Young Engineer
Frank Scheele South Burnett Regional Council President's Award
IPWEAQ EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2017
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THANK YOU TO OUR JUDGES:Public Works Project Awards: Sandra Burke Martin Crow John Hawkes Glenda Kirk Craig Murrell Ian Woodyard
Water Project Awards: Dave Cameron Rob Fearon Arron Hieatt
People Awards: Kev Bickhoff Rob Daly Murray Erbs Angela Fry Seren McKenzie Ashleigh Tomkins
PROJECT AWARD WINNERS Innovation - Sunshine Coast Council, Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve Rainforest Discovery Centre Innovation (High Commendation) – Cairns Regional Council, Shields Street Heart Projects under $2 million – City of Gold Coast, Surfers Paradise Orchid Avenue Urilift Public Amenity Projects $2 million to $5 million - City of Gold Coast, Sarawak Avenue Steel Footbridge RenewalProjects $5 million to $10 million – Cairns Regional Council, School of Arts Building Renewal
Projects $5 million to $10 million (High Commendation) – Richmond Shire Council, Richmond's New Administration CentreProjects over $10 million – Central Highlands Regional Council, Blackwater Aquatic CentreProjects over $10 million (High Commendation) Sunshine Coast Council, Evans Street UpgradeRoad Safety – Logan City Council, Flooded Road Smart Warning System Asset Management – Gladstone Regional Council, CCTV Wastewater Data ManagementInnovation in water – Mareeba Shire Council, Mareeba Wastewater Treatment Plant UpgradeWater projects under $2 million - Outback Regional Water Alliance, Regional Outback Water Quality Infrastructure Program Water projects $2 million to $5 million - Bundaberg Regional Council, Burnett River Discharge Facility for Rubyanna Wastewater Treatment Plant Water projects over $5 million - Wide Bay Burnett Regional Organisation of Councils, Wide Bay Burnett Regional Organisation of Councils Joint Sewer Rehabilitation Program
AWARDSEXCELLENCE
INFORMS. CONNECTS. REPRESENTS. LEADS.
City of Gold Coast Sarawak Avenue Steel Footbridge Renewal Overall Winner (sponsored by Premise)
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Recent reports by the Queensland Audit Office raised questions regarding the long-term financial sustainability of local councils across Queensland leading to an inquiry by the Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources Committee. IPWEAQ made a submission (May 2017) to the inquiry and appeared before the committee (June 2017).
To consider the issues from the perspective of multiple stakeholders, we asked a panel of experts to join us for the inaugural Local Government Sustainability panel discussion held at the 2017 state conference in Townsville. Panellists included: Jo Stephenson – Regional
Director, Department Infrastructure, Local Government & Planning (DILGP)
Patrick Flemming – Sector Director Local Government, Queensland Audit Office
Glenda Kirk – Acting Director Infrastructure Services, Mareeba Shire Council
Michael Shave – representing Local Government Finance Professionals (and Noosa Council)
Experts agree managing assets is key to local government sustainability REPORT
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Unfortunately, two of our panellists – Craig Matheson, Deputy Director-General, DILGP and Jan Xanthopoulo, Principal, Local Government Client Advisory, Queensland Treasury Corporation (QTC) – were on a flight to Townsville that was turned back after take-off however we look forward to their involvement in future panels as we continue this important discussion.
Prior to the panel session in Townsville, our panellists met twice and came to agreement on the issues as follows: The financial sustainability of
councils is intrinsically linked to the management of assets.
Good asset management is the cornerstone of long-term sustainability.
Regional and remote councils face challenges due to capacity and capability constraints in both engineering and financial disciplines
There is often a disparity between achieving a level of service in line with community expectations and managing our assets in a financially sustainable way
Some asset groups (roads and water infrastructure) are better managed than others (Waste Management - land fill, parks and gardens – irrigation and drainage)
New or appealing projects can take priority over managing the existing assets as politicians enjoy ‘ribbon-cutting’ ceremonies.
Decision-makers often do not appreciate the long term financial impacts or commitment resulting from the acquisition of new assets.
IPWEAQ Chief Executive Officer Leigh Cunningham said the panel discussion reinforced the importance of addressing the risks sooner rather than later.
“The planning for assets, procurement, capture and analysis of asset data, maintenance, renewal and life cycle requires technical skills best delivered by registered professional engineers (RPEQs). Queensland is currently the only Australian jurisdiction that has a comprehensive professional registration system for engineers prescribed by the Professional Engineers Act (2002).
“Professional engineers in the public works sector have a good understanding of community expectations in relation to level of service and the impact of the costs of providing these over the long term but there is more we can do to improve the management of assets.
“With the changing focus of councils from being engineering-driven to financially-driven, the position of Chief Engineer that previously existed in most councils has disappeared from many local councils particularly smaller councils.
“The erosion of this position may be linked to the declining sustainability of local councils”.
Read IPWEAQ's submission to the inquiry into the long-term financial sustainability of local government.
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST
Conference delegates and those who have subscribed to the 2017 state conference proceedings (podcasts) can access the panel session in the IPWEAQ Knowledge Centre in the ‘2017 state conference proceedings (podcasts)’ collection.
Subscribe to the podcasts via the IPWEAQ shopping cart:
https://ipweaq.eventsair.com/MemberPortal/ipweaq-master-contact-store/ipweaq-member-portal/ShoppingCart
If you would like to participate in future conference sessions on this topic, please contact Leigh Cunningham, [email protected]
Panellists discussing issues for sustainability of local councils (L to R): Jo Stephenson, Michael Shave, Glenda Kirk, Patrick Flemming
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Sandra Burke District Director (FNQ), Program Delivery & Operations, Department of Transport and Main Roads
The long, red road to Weipa in Far North Queensland - known as the Peninsula Developmental Road (PDR) - was once a boggy road in the wet season and a corrugated dusty road in the dry season.
But it is changing.
That remote track – once only accessible by four-wheel-drive for about seven months a year – is evolving into a sealed bitumen road that will shape the future of Cape York and its Indigenous and local communities.
The 570km PDR, 527km of which is state-controlled, is the key transport route in Cape York, linking Lakeland to Weipa via Laura, Musgrave and Coen.
The $260.5 million Cape York Region Package (CYRP) is a vital national project connecting Cape communities and changing lives well into the future.
Funded by the Australian and Queensland governments on an 80:20 basis, $200 million of the CYRP has been invested in progressively sealing sections of the PDR, from Laura north to the Rio Tinto mine lease boundary at Weipa.
Peninsula Developmental Road – shaping the
future of Cape York FEATURE ARTICLE
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The package also includes $50.5 million for priority community infrastructure works identified by the Cape Indigenous Mayors Alliance and $10 million to seal 7.5km of the Endeavour Valley Road (EVR) to Hope Vale.
The Queensland Government has allocated an additional $4.5 million (separate to the CYRP) to complete the final 2.8km of sealing of the EVR in 2018.
Some of the key challenges faced by the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) in delivering the program include working in a remote location with limited telecommunications (often only satellite phones work), the increased costs and difficulties of sourcing and delivering materials to the region and the wet season – it floods for about four months of every year and we’re unable to progress sealing works during this time.
CYRP works began in July 2014 and, within its first year of operation a native title claim, known as the Native Title Cape York United Number 1 Claim (QUD673/2014), was lodged across Cape York on behalf of named Native Title applicants by the Cape York Land Council (CYLC).
An interim agreement - the Peninsula Developmental Road Priority Agreement - was reached between the State, the named Applicants and relevant Traditional Owners while negotiations continued for an Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA), covering the state-controlled section of the PDR.
The PDR Priority Agreement allowed the State to progress delivery of priority works in compliance with Native Title and Cultural Heritage legislation and enabled Traditional Owners to work ‘on country’ as Cultural Heritage officers.
The agreement has helped close the gap through training and employment opportunities. Its success was recognised when TMR and CYLC won an award under the Partnership category at the 2016 Queensland Reconciliation Awards.
A Cultural Heritage Protection Agreement was also developed as part of the PDR Priority Agreement to satisfy the State’s duty of care under the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003.
TMR now provides a pre-mobilisation awareness briefing to every operator working on PDR job sites to assist them identify artefacts during the course of their work and to realise their duty of care towards cultural heritage.
The agreement provides for a cultural heritage field survey of the ‘disturbance footprint’ and monitoring during high impact activities.
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As of September 2017, more than 7000 hours of cultural heritage monitoring and surveying has been undertaken by Traditional Owners. Protecting cultural heritage has led to identification of scar trees and rock carvings at Laura.
Meanwhile, discussions continued towards an ILUA for the PDR and, on 12 July 2017, the National Native Title Tribunal wrote to TMR advising the ILUA had been registered.
The agreement now also includes the provision of workshops for Indigenous businesses and scholarships for Indigenous secondary and tertiary students, particularly for study in the fields related to road construction.
The impetus behind the multi-million dollar package of works is to facilitate economic growth in the Cape York region by upgrading key roads and infrastructure and to better connect areas of economic opportunity with Indigenous and local communities.
The program aims to improve social effects through better access to health care, employment, education and training opportunities.
It is not inconceivable to think that building a road can do this. When it takes three weeks for a barge to deliver food to the Western Cape, reducing travel time and costs to a day’s drive will have a major, positive impact on people’s quality of life.
A key focus of these CYRP works has been providing business and employment opportunities to ensure capability building for Indigenous people and Indigenous and / or Cape York local businesses.
For example, in 2015:
22 Indigenous trainees were engaged on PDR works
At the peak of construction during 2015, there were more than 80 Indigenous employees working on the PDR
15 Indigenous businesses were engaged in 2015 on the PDR. That is almost 25 per cent of the contract work.
TMR has prioritised Indigenous employment and training through the use of tailored Key Result Areas (KRA), with incentivised contract payments, for the 2015, 2016 and 2017 PDR projects.
Local Indigenous job seekers are, for the first time, carrying out road construction on the PDR while gaining certified on-the-job training.
The three KRAs are: Indigenous and non-Indigenous training and upskilling; implementation of an Indigenous Economic Opportunities Plan; and Local Industry Participation.
By incentivising the KRAs, principal contractors have been encouraged to meet these requirements, with the targets for KRA1 and KRA2 being well exceeded in 2015 and 2016, and good results being achieved for KRA3 in consecutive years.
The Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships has set a minimum target of 1.5 per cent for projects (largely building works) that are being delivered in Indigenous communities. For the civil construction works being carried out on the PDR, this percentage is able to be increased because
the projects include plant hire and other significant costs.
On the 2016 PDR projects, TMR exceeded 28 per cent Indigenous business engagement (note: the figure varied according to the works underway and the stage of the delivery of the projects).
One of the ways of leaving behind a different legacy through the CYRP has been the construction of 31 water storage structures along the PDR in line with environmental requirements.
Water is necessary in road construction but it is also important for pastoralists, so to resolve problems with competing for water resources in the dry season, storage structures were created alongside the road during the dry season so as they could fill during the wet season.
It can be a very long haul to access gravel which can be expensive and time-consuming. It can also cause wear and tear to our road asset.
So in 2015 and 2016, TMR carried out gravel investigation ahead of the delivery of the following year’s projects. They were carried out in compliance with the PDR Priority Agreement, with TMR and Traditional Owners working alongside one another.
Sourcing gravel nearby the road has helped ensure that all gravel pits used for TMR works are compliant, and developed and managed in an environmentally sustainable manner.
By the end of December 2017, weather permitting, more than 130km of the PDR will be sealed through the CYRP, bringing the total amount of sealed road on the PDR to more than 50 per
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cent. By June 2019, it is estimated that 170km of the PDR will be sealed, under the CYRP, leaving about 200km to be completed, as funding permits. And, despite annual wet seasons, TMR is on track to complete delivery of the CYRP by 30 June 2019.
Good progress has also been made on the $10 million project to seal the remaining gravel sections leading to Hope Vale.
These works have been completed under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between TMR, with Hope Vale Aboriginal Shire Council (HVASC) as a sub-contractor. The MoU arrangement has provided a valuable opportunity for Indigenous employment and training, and improved HVASC’s construction capability.
Together, 7.51km of the remaining gravel sections have
been sealed. In addition, some HVASC employees have gained qualifications, while two former employees have started their own businesses.
By way of maximising benefit to the local community, this project is improving safety, as well as providing huge benefits for the agricultural and tourism industries. It will bring particular benefits to the banana plantation in Hope Vale through reduced transportation costs and delivery of improved product to market.
As part of the $50.5 million allocated to projects to improve priority community infrastructure (such as roads, barge and boat ramps, water and sewerage), projects are in various stages of completion at eight Indigenous communities in Cape York, including in Pormpuraaw, Napranum and Aurukun Shire Councils.
A good example of how these projects are shaping communities and changing lives can be understood through Ralph Kendall Senior.
Ralph was born in Pormpuraaw and has been working every dry season with the road crew since 1995 when the access road was a two-wheeled track. He is competent in operating a grader, backhoe, roller, loader, skidsteer, excavator and the water truck.
He achieved these competencies through on-site training with TMR.
Ralph says that working for the community “has allowed me to be a positive role model and to support my family”. All five of Ralph’s children are permanently employed in the community with one son currently the Mayor and his daughter a qualified mechanic.
CYRP is an example of where, in partnership with Indigenous communities and businesses, TMR is making a real and lasting difference to the lives of Indigenous Queenslanders and their families, and the region as a whole.
The CYRP was highly commended in the Innovation in Design and/or Construction of a Local Government/Public Works Project category in the IPWEAQ Excellence Awards 2016.
For comprehensive information on the PDR, including regular newsletters, see TMR website: https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/Projects/Name/C/Cape-York-Region-Package-Peninsula-Developmental-Road
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Mike Brady, General Manager Infrastructure Services Group, Toowoomba Regional Council
Mike Brady was named IPWEAQ Engineer 2017 at the Excellence Awards Gala Awards Ceremony and Dinner on 25 October 2017 at the Ville Resort, Townsville. Mike spoke to Engineering for Public Works about his career and what he’s learnt along the way:
Please summarise your career to date?I commenced my career in the early 1980’s as an apprentice civil draftsman for Sinclair Knight and Partners in Sydney.
On completion of my apprenticeship, I continued studying at night and through a ‘sandwich’ course for my civil engineering degree at UTS.
My first local government
experience was at Warringah Shire Council, this was followed by roles at Maclean Shire Council, then Narrabri Shire Council as a design engineer and where I met my wife.
During this period I also completed a Post Grad in LGEng and a Masters in LG Management.
In the early 1990’s, I took the role as Deputy Shire Engineer at Bogan Shire Council (Nyngan) and then my first Director role at Tenterfield Shire Council, followed by Director Engineering at Moree Plains Shire Council.
Following a short stint consulting, I joined the Department of Transport and Main Roads in Roma Qld followed by District Director at Central Highlands in Emerald.
The opportunity then arose to re-join local government in Emerald as Director, later as General Manager. In 2008, I joined Brisbane City Council undertaking various senior roles which prepared me for my current role as General Manager, Infrastructure Services Group at Toowoomba Regional Council which I now enjoy with a great team around me.
What’s been your most significant career highlight? Encouraging and supporting
apprentices, trainees and young
engineers as they develop their careers, coaching and mentoring where you can.
The opportunities I’ve had at each workplace and in particular my role at Toowoomba Regional Council which is a real culmination of all my experiences to date.
The opportunities to support the engineering profession through my LGEA and IPWEA NSW committee roles during the 1990’s, President of Engineers Australia (Queensland) in 2010, Board of Professional Engineers Qld (2012-2016) and being presented the 2017 IPWEAQ Engineer of the Year.
Jointly leading the 2011 immediate floor recovery for Brisbane City Council and South Region and then leading the TRC 2011-16 Flood Recovery Program and major works within the Toowoomba region.
And your most cringe-worthy career moment? Leaking pen in pocket of a new
business shirt and explaining ruining the shirt to my wife. They never forget…
As a young engineer, I had a few projects that didn’t quite go as planned, whether from what
member profile mike brady
MEMBER PROFILE
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was built, contract not going to plan or the budget went a “little” over. In hindsight, these were all good learning experiences, even though a few stern words were always said.
What do you find most satisfying about working in public works? The opportunity to make our
communities a better place to live, work and play. In particular, helping people in our community achieve outcomes that benefit themselves and others.
Being able to use your creative and innovative talents to design and construct aesthetically pleasing community infrastructure.
What was your initial response at being named IPWEAQ 2017 Engineer of the Year?It was a humbling experience and one of much appreciation to my peers, work colleges, Council and in particular my family for all the love and support they have given me over the years to achieve the successes I have.
What has been the response to your award from your employer and Councillors?The staff and Councillors at TRC have been very warm in their congratulations and proud of the success TRC achieves from the recognition of their teams.
What do you think is most important in leading a successful team such as the team you lead at TRC?Spending as much personal time as you can with the individuals and working teams across the Infrastructure Services Group.
Being seen, appreciating their efforts and caring for them as people is always appreciated.
What would be the one piece of advice you would give to public works engineers early in their career?As a very keen engineer who wanted to succeed, patience and tolerance is what I’ve learnt along the way. Always care for others and that will be repaid 10-fold in the efforts they will go to for you.
You have been a member of and involved with IPWEAQ for many years, what have been the most obvious benefits from your involvement?The peer support through the IPWEA (NSW and QLD) during my career has been unwavering. The networks that you build, what you can learn and what you can give back is both wonderful and enjoyable in many dimensions.
Any other comments/wisdom/thoughts!Be strong, be truthful and have the courage to stand-up for what you believe in. Always help and respect others and your community will be a better place!
My guiding light: “Be eager in your desires, but humbly patient in their accomplishments” – Mary MacKillop.
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Thank you to our sponsors for your generous contribution to the success of #IPWEAQ17!
Townsville Enterprise Limited Platinum Sponsor
Sharpe Bros Conference Satchels
Fulton Hogan Closing Ceremony
McArthur Coffee Cart
Premise Excellence Awards Gala Dinner
Morning and Afternoon Tea sponsor
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Boral Dr Alan Duffy Keynote Presentation & Morning Tea
GHD Woman in Engineering Award
Abergeldie Welcome Function
Lo-Go Appointments Conference Lanyards
Harrison Infrastructure Group Brent Tate Keynote Presentation
12d Solutions Engineer of the Year Award
Best Practice stream sponsor
Lunch sponsor
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Abergeldie provides the complex infrastructure needed to build better communities. Abergeldie designs and delivers dams, bridges, tunnels and micro-tunnels, recreation facilities, water treatment and process facilities, rail, mining infrastructure, electrical substations and marine works to areas across Australia. Abergeldie’s ingenuity, innovation and attention to detail are what gives Abergeldie its reputation for quality.
Thank you to Abergeldie Complex Infrastructure for sponsoring the IPWEAQ 2017 State Conference Welcome Function at the Townsville Entertainment and Convention Centre.
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Thank you to our exhibitors for your contribution to #IPWEAQ17!
12d Solutions Allroads APA Group Assetic Australian Professional
Galvanizing Boral BPEQ Colas CR Kennedy Delnorth Roadside Products Dial Before You Dig Downer Group EJ Australia Fulton Hogan Geofabrics Geohex Permeable Paving
(A Plus Plastics)
Global Synthetics Hastings Deering Humes Ingal Civil ITS Pipetech Komatsu LGIAsuper Lion Systems Local Buy Lo-Go Appointments McArthur McBerns McCullough Robertson Orion Solar Parchem Pavement Management
Solutions PBS/Instrada
PolyCom (SEALS Group) Polynex Puma Quakewrap RPS Group Saferoads Sharpe Bros Stabilised Pavements Steel Mains Supersealing Turbid Water Solutions Vinidex Wagners CFT Yotta
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Fulton Hogan creates communities from the ground up, with its own network of quarries, complemented by asphalt, emulsion and precast plants across Australia and New Zealand. Fulton Hogan is a recognised leader in technical innovation and has more than 80 years’ experience in the transport, water, energy, mining, civil construction and land development infrastructure in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.
Thank you to Fulton Hogan for sponsoring the IPWEAQ 2017 State Conference Closing Ceremony at A Touch of Salt in Townsville.
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Partner Benefits
plus
*Due to the size of some regional venues, it may not be possible to accommodate a trade display for all Partners at each event. If we are unable to provide a trade display for you at a branch conference, we will ensure you have a presence at the conference eg as sponsor of a paper or session.Priority will be given to Principal Partners then Partners before non-Partner exhibitors.
Partner | $7,500 (plus GST)Principal Partner $12,500 (plus GST)
Your logo on the IPWEAQ website, linked to your website.
Contribute a half-page advertorial for one of our quarterly issues of Engineering for Public Works.
Your logo displayed in each quarterly issue of IPWEAQ’s e-journal.
10% discount on all sponsorship opportunities at state and branch conferences.
Use of our IPWEAQ Partner logo for your website, marketing collateral etc.
Your logo on our conference registration online site and our conference App linked to your website.
Discounted rates to purchase IPWEAQ technical products including Standard Drawings, Complete Streets, QUDM etc.
Your employees will receive a 10% discount on their IPWEAQ membership. If they don’t wish to become a member, they are still eligible to attend all our events and courses at member rates.
We invite you to share your digital content on all IPWEAQ social media platforms including LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
Upgrade to Principal Partner for greater exposure...
Double booth and priority allocation at our state conference
Guaranteed trade display at all branch conferences
Chair a stream at the state conference OR a plenary session
One quarter page advertisement in each issue of our e-journal, Engineering for Public Works
One table for 10 people at our excellence awards gala ceremony and dinner (25 October 2017)
Your logo in a primary position on all marketing collateral and featured more prominently than other Partners
STATE CONFERENCEOne booth and priority allocation of location including two full registrations (value $4,000)Chair a session in a stream (value $1,000)
BRANCH CONFERENCES/EVENTSOpportunity to exhibit at up to four regional events (either IPWEAQ branch conferences, professional development courses or workshops) including two full registrations per event (value $4,000)
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We are very pleased to announce the launch of ADAC 5.0 which will save your council significant costs in the time it takes to manage incorrect, missing or redundant data.
ADAC is available at no cost however we encourage you to join the ADAC consortium for an opportunity to influence the ongoing development, governance and expansion of the specification. Consortium members also receive access to documents, tools and materials developed to support ADAC implementation and an opportunity to shape the strategic direction of ADAC in conjunction with BIM.
ADAC annual subscription based on constituents
Price + GST
Councils with less than 25,000
$2,000
Councils with 25,000 to 100,000
$4,000
Councils with more than 100,000
$7,000
Note: apply a 10% discount for subscribers to PWTS.
Consortium • Brisbane City Council • Bundaberg Regional Council • City of Charles Sturt • City of Gold Coast • Gladstone Regional Council • Gympie Regional Council • Lockyer Valley Regional Council • Logan City Council • Mackay Regional Council • Moreton Bay Regional Council • Port Macquarie - Hastings Council • Queensland Urban Utilities • Redland City Council • Rockhampton Regional Council • SA Water
• Scenic Rim Regional Council • Sunshine Coast Council • Toowoomba Regional Council • Tweed Shire Council • Unity Water • Wentworth Shire Council • Whitsunday Regional Council
We have a panel of skilled providers to assist you with the implementation of ADAC. See our website for details. http://www.ipweaq.com/adac
Contact Ross Guppy [email protected] 07 3632 6804
Transform your Business with ADAC 5.0!
Darren Moore, Water Asset Management Program Leader | Road and Water Infrastructure Directorate | Logan City Council
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PUBLICATIONSLower Order Road Design Guide
This guide offers a risk-based approach to lower road capital improvement.
www.ipweaq.com/technical
Standard Drawings
Standard Drawings for General, Drainage and Water Quality, Parks, Roads, Homeowner.
Complete Streets
Guidelines for Urban Street Design
Supervisor’s Handbook
For supervisors and staff working on local government projects in the field.
Queensland Urban Drainage Manual
For engineers and stormwater designers in the planning, design and management of urban stormwater drainage systems.
Purchase and download IPWEAQ Publications at http://www.ipweaq.com/technical
Building Better Communities for Queensland.For more than 25 years, Abergeldie has been working with local government and public works institutions to help deliver the complex infrastructure that builds better communities.
We apply award-winning quality, safety and environmental management standards to design, construct and refurbish bridges, roads, water and sewage treatment plants, stormwater systems, pipelines, pump stations, walkways, cycleways, recreational facilities, jetties, wharves, marinas, bus terminals and rail infrastructure. We strive for sustainability in everything we do, and we place a high priority on local engagement, local procurement, local employment and development of local industry – just some of the vital elements it takes to build better communities.
Abergeldie shares the values of IPWEAQ and is proud to be one of its partners.
www.abergeldie.com
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Trevor Distin Technical and Marketing Manager, Colas Australia
A large portion of our Council’s road network consists of bituminous surfaces which carry low traffic volumes of less than 500 vehicles per day. The mechanism by which these bituminous surfaces deteriorate and fail are different to high trafficked roads. The main mode of deterioration for these surfaces will be caused by oxidisation of the binder and not from the traffic loading. Thus a different approach is required in the selection of the materials, design, construction and maintenance regimes used for these asphalt and sprayed seal surfaces to those carrying heavy and high volumes of traffic. This article sets out to provide some insight into how best to mitigate the effect of binder hardening in surfaces and what maintenance strategies to employ to provide the lowest life cycle cost for your network.
Retarding binder ageingThe bitumen used in the construction of the surfacing hardens over time mainly due to oxidisation. As the binder hardens
it becomes more prone to cracking which then leads to water ingress into the underlying pavement. The best approach to retard the propensity of the binder from ageing will depend on the type of surfacing used with the main types being either asphalt or spray seals.
The highest rate of binder hardening in asphalt occurs during the manufacturing process when the binder is exposed in a thin film to the super-heated mineral aggregates. By using warm mix technologies the mixing
temperature can be reduced by up to 30⁰C thereby reducing the rate of binder hardening. Other considerations to reduce binder hardening in asphalt is to: Use a softer grade of bitumen
e.g. C170 in place of C320 or C450
Increase the binder film thickness by increasing bitumen content of the asphalt mix
Design the mix with a lower compacted air voids
Compact the mix in the field to a lower insitu air voids content
Sustainable approach to maintaining low trafficked
surfaced roads TECHNICAL ARTICLE
The effect binder ageing in asphalt during mixing, transport and during its in-service life (Source Shell Bitumen Handbook 6th edition)
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The above measures will help retard the oxidation of the binder thereby providing a more durable and longer lasting asphalt surfacing in a low trafficked environment. It is important to note that specifications developed for highly trafficked roads will tend to drive a reduction in binder content, use of harder binders and restrict minimum insitu air voids to prevent the asphalt from deforming under high traffic loading in summer. The kneading effect of vehicular traffic also helps close up the air voids in the surface thus reducing the exposure of the binder in the asphalt to oxygen and from the ingress of water.
The strategies for reducing binder hardening in low trafficked spray seals will be to increase the binder application rate without causing the seal to bleed or flush during hot weather. The best way to do that is to: Increase the size of the surfacing
aggregate used to allow more binder to the applied per square metre.
Cut back the binder with high boiling point cutter which will help with the wetting of the cold aggregate during construction but allow some cutter to remain in the seal thus preventing the binder from becoming brittle.
Use a more viscous binder like C170 modified with recycled crumb rubber from used vehicle tyres.
Vehicle tyres contains carbon black which is an antioxidant that can also help prolong the life of the binder in the seal.
Preventative maintenance treatmentsBy intervening timeously in the life of a low trafficked bituminous
surfacings through the application of a suitable bitumen emulsion treatment will help delay the need for the application of a more expensive reseal or asphalt overlay.
The cold emulsion treatments advocated are dilute emulsions (DE), polymer modified mineral filled emulsions (PME) and polymer modified quickset microsurfacing (MS). The choice of treatment to use will depend on: Structural integrity of the
pavement. If the existing surface is badly cracked because of underlying base failures then these treatments are not suitable as the cracks will reflect through the thin surfacing.
Time allowable to close the road to traffic. DE requires up to 4 hours to dry before allowing trafficking depending on weather conditions.
Texture of the existing surface to accommodate DE.
Surface gradient and cross fall. If these are greater than 3% then DE should not be used to avoid run off.
MS and PME will dry within 1 hour and can be applied to asphalt surfaces which have a closed texture. The application of MS can provide a service life of 8 -12 years before further resealing is required whereas PME needs to be reapplied very 3 – 5 years.
The application of these treatments will help seal the microcracks in the aged surface and improve the impermeability of the aged surface. The diagram below shows the effect of PME on improving the impermeability immediately, 1 and 3 years after treatment.
In summary the use of cold emulsion techniques: are a cost-effective treatment
to extend the life of bituminous surfaces on low trafficked roads by retarding binder ageing
for a given financial spend increases the network coverage that can be treated so it remains in a good condition
improves sustainability by conserving scare non-renewable
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aggregates which would normally be used in periodic road maintenance treatments
improves worker health and safety by reducing risk of hot bitumen burns and exposure to harmful fumes
protects the environment by reducing energy consumption and emissions of GHG during the manufacturing and application processes.
Colas combines the expertise of its local binder, spray seal and asphalt operations with its global engineering network to offer a wide range of pavement solutions. This includes pavement preservation treatments to provide safe, innovative, sustainable and cost-effective solutions for the construction and maintenance of Australia’s road network.
For more information about Colas products and services please visit www.colas.com.au.
Microsurfacing breaking immediately after application on a road in Bundaberg
PME being applied by a special sprayer on an urban road
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2017 State Conference Proceedings
Seven keynote/plenary presentations: Dr Alan Duffy (Astrophysicist), Brigadier Chris Field, Alan Patching, Brent Tate, Cr Graham Scott (Livingstone Shire Council), Bill Landsbury and Sandra Burke (TMR)
Sustainability of local government panel session
30 papers across 12 Streams
ADAC 5.0 launch
QUDM launch
Futures Challenge – four presentations from our future engineers
The Great Debate – smart cities are not that smart
More than 16 hours CPD for just $600 for members, $900 for non-members
2017 STATE CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS
INFORMS. CONNECTS. REPRESENTS. LEADS.
SUBSCRIBE NOW!
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street planning and design manual
Complete Streets was launched in 2010 offering contemporary and innovative urban street design guidelines for cost effective and sustainable urban development in Queensland. It continues to be referenced in many council planning schemes assisting engineers, land use planners and urban designers to plan quality liveable, functional and safe urban neighbourhoods.
In 2016, IPWEAQ undertook two surveys of its membership and key stakeholders about the developing needs in our neighbourhoods, and ongoing complaints from developers who must deal with a range of different guidelines across councils. It also became apparent that in the absence of an industry Standard, councils could develop their own individual guidelines which could create further issues for developers and communities.
This led to a comprehensive Discussion Paper from John Derbyshire, FIPWEAQ and the formation of a technical steering committee of recognised leaders in urban design and planning. The Steering Committee has considered the issues to be resolved to future-proof our neighbourhoods and urban precincts and determined that the planning of street networks should
be inextricably linked with the land-use planning of the precincts that they serve. Accordingly, the overarching and underlying themes for the manual will be the inter-relationship between the street and adjacent land-uses. The proposed manual will emphasise liveability and quality public realms in the development of urban precincts and can be applied to greenfield and brownfield precincts, as well as individual street development and redevelopment.
The proposed Street Planning and Design Manual will be recognised as the most comprehensive
contemporary manual for the planning and design of streets in Australia.
It is anticipated that this new publication will be ready for launch mid-2019. If you would like to be involved or would like to contribute to the development fund as a major or principal sponsor, please contact Leigh Cunningham [email protected] 07 3632 6810
Steering CommitteeOur thanks to the expertise, knowledge and skills of our steering committee:
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Ged Brennan (Chair) Immediate Past President, IPWEAQ
Andrew Ryan (Deputy Chair) Principal, Sabre Management Solutions
John Derbyshire Retired Local Government and Development Engineer
Steve Conner Acting Deputy Director-General, DILGP
Peter Smith Executive Director, Planning Services, DILGP
Mark Wyer Senior Engineer, Calibre Consulting
Syd Jerram Manager of Integrated Transport and Design, Moreton Bay Regional Council
Stuart Doyle Director and Civil Engineer, RMA Engineers
Craig Young Manager Civil Asset Management, Sunshine Coast Regional Council
Greg Penhalagon Local Government and Consultant Civil Engineer, GHD
Tony McDonald Senior Project Manager, Harrison Infrastructure Group
Brad Carey Coordinator of Development Assessment, Sunshine Coast Regional Council
Peter Richards Director, Deicke Richards (design practice)
Leigh Cunningham CEO, IPWEAQ
Ross Guppy Director, Technical Products, IPWEAQ
A special acknowledgment and thanks to John Derbyshire for preparing the Complete Streets Discussion Paper and the project scope for the Street Planning and Design Manual.
For more information about the Street Planning and Design Manual or any of IPWEAQ’s working groups, please contact Ross Guppy, Director Technical Products on 3632 6804 or [email protected] or visit http://www.ipweaq.com/working-groups
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A compact housing form appropriate for more urban placesLow rise apartments
Low rise apartments are generally two to three storeys, often above semi-basement car parking. Buildings of this scale can have open stairs and balcony access, enabling design for cross ventilation which is important for subtropical and energy efficient design. Alternatively, low rise apartments can be accessed via a lift, although this usually results in higher cost constructions and maintenance with the additional costs being passed onto the purchaser/resident.
An apartment building can be part of an integrated development by a single developer on an amalgamated site, or a separate development. Apartment buildings usually require community titling, with common property managed through a body corporate.
Low rise apartment buildings in SEQ demonstrate that small setbacks to street frontages are possible and the quality of the human experience relates to the height of the building, width of the street and front boundary treatment (e.g. fencing and landscaping). Access to spaces for leisure and recreation is an important consideration in the design of low rise apartments, which includes private, communal and public open space.
Two storey apartments with basement parking provided as part of an integrated development, Bulimba
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Congratulations to the four finalists at this year's inaugural IPWEAQ Futures Challenge!
Final year students studying engineering and related disciplines were invited to present their thesis or research project on poster boards at the IPWEAQ state conference trade exhibition. Each student prepared a poster board representing the nature of the project, its goals and proposed outcomes. Delegates offered advice and feedback to students with the top projects
chosen by a panel of judges. View the posters in this issue of EPW.
The four finalists delivered a 10-minute presentation in the auditorium to close Day 2 of the conference program with delegates voting on the best presentation using the conference App. View the abstracts and presentations in the Knowledge Centre.
The winner of the 2017 Future's Challenge was Matthew Tiller from QUT for his presentation on the optimization of coil pump
technology for use in developing countries of the South Pacific and received a complimentary registration to the 2018 IPWEAQ state conference (valued at over $2,000).
The feedback from delegates on all four presentations was exceptional. Congratulations to the students and their universities. Read the reports from the finalists about their IPWEAQ 2017 state conference experience:
2017 Futures Challenge FEATURE ARTICLE
Future Challenge Participants (L to R): Michael Sarunn, Daniel Marais, Denver Pollock, Matthew Tiller
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Futures Challenge WinnerMatthew Tiller Queensland University of Technology Optimization of coil pump technology for use in developing countries of the South Pacific
PhD’s and professionals, that’s who I thought attended engineering conferences. So, it was a welcome surprise to receive an invitation to submit my undergraduate thesis into the IPWEAQ Futures Challenge. This entry allowed me to attend and present, at the 2017 IPWEAQ State Conference in Townsville. As this was the first conference I’ve attended, I didn’t really know what to expect. However, I found that the experiences I had were invaluable for my development as an emerging professional civil engineer.
1.1 Tour of Humes Production Facility
Humes were kind enough to open their doors for conference delegates to take part in a technical tour of their Townsville production facility. This facility services the precast needs for much of North Queensland, producing culverts, pipes, pre-tensioned beams, and an array of other precast concrete solutions.
The tour commenced by showing the reinforcing and moulds used to create box culverts. There was also a detailed explanation of pre-tensioned beam construction, and some of the challenges experienced were discussed. The highlight of the tour was seeing reinforced concrete pipes being spun in a centrifugal spinning machine. The ease at which the machine could adapt to spinning
small and large pipe diameters was very impressive. This allows Humes to produce specific pipes sizes on very short notice. Overall, the tour significantly increased my knowledge surrounding precast concrete products, and being able to observe the production steps greatly improved my understanding of real world applications.
1.2 Keynote: Challenges of Big Data
Professor Alan Duffy of Swinburne University presented an engaging address on the challenges of handling and analysing big data. He drew valuable parallels between his field of astrophysics, and the challenges facing public works engineering professionals. The ever-increasing amount of data available, brings with it the challenge of performing
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meaningful analysis. Duffy discussed the concept of ‘citizen science’, that is, engaging the general public to help categorise and analyse data. The power of asking simple questions was also emphasised as it engages more people from a variety of fields. The take home message was, “Don’t be afraid of letting people into your
data, you’ll be amazed with what they can discover, you just need to build the tools for them to let them do this effectively”.
1.3 Futures ChallengeThe Futures Challenge is an IPWEAQ initiative that invites final year engineering students to present their thesis or research
project. My thesis was entitled Development of a River Powered Coil Pump for use in Developing Countries of the South Pacific. My presentation explored cost effective and sustainable solutions for water pumping challenges that face many remote communities. After an audience vote, I was fortunate enough to win the Futures Challenge for 2017. This came as a surprise due to the consistent excellence of all the presentations.
1.4 Excellence Awards and Gala Dinner
Attending the IPWEAQ Gala Awards and Dinner was a fantastic experience. I shared a table with the delegates from Bundaberg Regional Council, as well as my fellow Futures Challenge presenters. The night was made especially memorable as Bundaberg Regional Council were acknowledged for their work on the Rubyanna Wastewater Treatment Plant by winning the award for Water Projects $2 million to $5 million.
1.5 The Morning AfterMy naivety was somewhat demonstrated early on the final day of the conference. On my way to the QUDM launch I stepped into the elevator with a well-dressed gentleman whom I had seen presenting a number of awards at the previous night’s dinner. I introduced myself and asked, “What’s your role with IPWEAQ?” Unfazed by my naivety he graciously replied, “I’m the president.” I regretted my question for a moment, realising that I should have picked up on that by now, but Joe continued in an engaging conversation with this fresh graduate until we reached the ground floor. And that’s, how I met Joe Bannan.
• A coil pump is an appropriate technology that provides a solution for a local problem.
• Materials are available locally with a total cost of less than $200AUD.
• Buildable within a day with unskilled labour.• By Using the flow of a river or creek it is capable of
pumping 5000L/day to an elevation of 25m.
Local labour and maintenance
Local materials and tools
Appropriate cost (AUD$200 max.)
Papua New Guinea
HDI 0.515
• The islands of the South Pacific are some of Australia’s closest neighbours, yet some of the most underdeveloped countries in the world.
• Many people live in remote villages outside the reach of municipal water reticulation.
• Diesel and solar pumps are in use, but have higher costs and parts are not always locally available.
• There is a need for sustainable, low cost water reticulation solutions in these remote regions.
Solomon Islands
HDI 0.515
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The coil pump is placed in a flowing creek. The tyre inner tubes (1) are inflated. The current flows through the turbine blades (2), turning the pump, thus the internal coil of pipe (3) rotates. The coil takes in 50% water and 50% air. The air becomes pressurised as it moves through the coils. The water passes through the rotaryunion (4) and up the delivery hose (5) to an elevated tank (6).
• Described as a series of cascading manometers. • Pressure builds up and cascades from coil to coil.• Positive displacement, likened to Archimedes’ screw.
• Pump flow rate increases as the pipe diameter is increased and as current velocity increases.
• Elevation head increases as the number of coils are increased and as current velocity increases.
• Solomon Islands – Plan to initiate pilot feasibility study in partnership with ADRA Solomon Islands.
• Wastewater Treatment – Valveless pump, reduced risk of blockages & increased Dissolved Oxygen.
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Effect of Current Velocity on Flow Rate and Elevation Head
Scan for VideoFor use in Developing Countries of the South Pacific
Matthew Tiller
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1.6 QUDM LaunchThe final day of proceedings started with the launch of the new Queensland Urban Drainage Manual. It was quite apparent that an enormous amount of time and energy had been invested into the manual by the QUDM Working Group. Made up of professionals from local councils, state government and industry, the group has created an updated manual that will assist in the future planning, design, and management of urban stormwater drainage systems.
1.7 AcknowledgementsIn summary, the 2017 IPWEAQ State Conference was a resounding success. I found it great to learn new technical skills and be exposed to the vast knowledge of the many industry professionals in attendance. Recognising public works engineering best practice through the medium of Excellence Awards was inspiring, and all those who were recognised were well deserving. Attention should also be drawn to IPWEAQ’s focus on development of young professionals entering the public works engineering sector. Their many programs, including the Futures Challenge, are invaluable to the future of the public works engineering in our local councils, state of Queensland and further abroad.
NOMINATE A STUDENT FOR THE 2018 FUTURES CHALLENGE!Deadline 30 June 2018.
Daniel Marais James Cook University Influence of compressibility on soil susceptibility to contact erosion (Paper prepared by Janelle Ogg and Daniel Marais and presented by Daniel Marais)
Graduate Engineer, James Cook University, Townsville and now Civil Engineer (Graduate), Premise
In October 2017, as a graduate engineer from James Cook University (Townsville), I had the opportunity to present my thesis project for the Futures Challenge program at the state conference of the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia, Queensland (IPWEAQ). Overall, I
thoroughly enjoyed meeting new people, learning about current research projects and taking part in the Futures Challenge.
The Futures Challenge was an excellent opportunity for me to better prepare for the professional world. It offered four university students the opportunity to present their thesis project to industry professionals and answer questions. We delivered a short presentation on our project with the best presenter being awarded a complimentary registration to the next IPWEAQ state conference to be held on the Gold Coast in October 2018. In addition to the Futures Challenge, the conference gave me the opportunity to meet many professionals and learn about the various projects in progress across Queensland. Overall, the IPWEAQ state conference was a great experience.
When I wasn’t meeting new people or gaining helpful feedback on my project, I was able to enjoy the conference program with more than 30 speakers presenting on a range of topics. Michael Kemp’s talk on the Composite Fibre Technology which Wagner is manufacturing was very interesting.
Sandra Burke’s presentation particularly interested me. Sandra explained how the Department of Transport and Main Roads is working to connect Cape York through sustainable initiatives. Having been to Cape York, I had an appreciation for the challenges Sandra highlighted when working at such a remote location.
Steven Latimer’s presentation was very informative and provided a brilliant learning opportunity for me. Steven presented on behalf
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of ITS Pipetech and explained the process and implications involved with the maintenance of storm water culverts. I was fortunate to have an opportunity to discuss the technology used in the design and construction of sewer and stormwater drainage with Steven in greater detail. This conversation further highlighted the various factors engineers need to consider for design and ease of construction.
The final talk that I attended was with Scott Young from Stabilised Pavements Australia. He presented his research into the effect of removing the amelioration period in the design and construction of lime stabilised subgrades. It was
insightful to hear his argument for removing the amelioration period i.e. removing an unnecessary step in the construction of lime stabilised subgrades. Having presented his research and the results supporting his argument, he highlighted that he is putting his proposal together to have the Australian Standard amended. It was encouraging to hear a professional questioning the Standards and providing evidence as to why he thinks the Standard should be changed.
One of my conference highlights was the Q&A session with former Cowboys player, Brent Tate. I enjoyed the insights into his younger years and how he
became a North Queensland Cowboys legend. To conclude the conference program, I enjoyed the Great Debate on the topic, ‘smart cities are not that smart’. It was a close result but Townsville’s Mayor Jenny Hill on the negative team had a strong closing argument that we could not forget. I thought the Q&A session with Brent and the Great Debate were excellent initiatives and ensured a laugh or two at the conference.
Finally, I would like to say a big thank you to IPWEAQ for inviting me and the other students to attend the state conference. It was an excellent opportunity to network, to prepare me for the professional world, and to learn
AIM OF PROJECTContact erosion is a frequent problem for water retaining structures and must be further investigated to stop many failures. The aim of this project is to determine the influence that the degree of compaction has on the susceptibility to contact erosion. The aim has been decided upon to ensure that new parameters are being investigated and to close the gap in the study of contact erosion.
MODEL DESIGNThe design of the model took careful consideration of many factors. Figure 1 shows the final design of the soil erosion unit. Preliminary testing was conducted to identify and rectify any potential issues. In particular, sealing of the unit was an issue that was solved with the use of steel connections.
EXPERIMENT DESIGNThree tests will be conducted with the soil compacted to 85%, 95% and 105% for each test. The hydraulic head will be increased over 7 heights to allow significantmaterial to erode. During this time pressure readings, flow rates and erosion rates will be recorded.
RESULTS & DISCUSSIONThe results obtained indicate that there is an optimum degree of compaction to ensure limited erosion. Figure 2 shows that the 105% compacted soil eroded much more than the 95% and 85% compacted soil. The total eroded soil from the 85% compaction test is more than the 95% compaction test. The study evidenced that insufficient compaction causes erosion, and excessive compaction causes excessive pore pressure and piping.
CONCLUSIONS• Shed some light on internal erosion occurring in water
retaining structures• A working soil erosion unit was designed, constructed
and further refined• The study evidenced that insufficient compaction
causes erosion, and excessive compaction causes excessive pore pressure and piping
Susceptibility To Contact Erosion With Varied Compressibility Of Soils
Figure 1 – Soil Erosion Unit
Authors:
Janelle Ogg [email protected]
Daniel Marais [email protected]
Peter To (Supervisor) [email protected]
By Daniel Marais
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more about how engineering is changing the world we live in. I hope to keep in contact with IPWEAQ in the many years to come and hope that this conference is the start of a strong relationship.
Editors Note: Since attending #IPWEAQ17 Daniel has secured a graduate position with Premise (https://premise.com.au/), sponsor of the 2017 Excellence Awards Gala Dinner. During his interview for the position, the interviewer advised he had seen Daniel’s poster at the conference and discussed his thesis. This is a great outcome for Daniel and highlights one of many benefits of participating in IPWEAQ’s Future Challenge.
Denver Pollock University of Southern Queensland Residual chlorine improvement in Woodhill water supply zone
IntroductionWhat an awesome opportunity to attend a conference in such a beautiful location. The IPWEAQ state conference in Townsville was a great introduction to conferences at the start of my career. The conference gave me a great opportunity to meet other delegates from industry leaders, see new products and services available and attend technical seminars.
I am currently a final year student at the University of Southern Queensland, studying a Bachelor
of Engineering Honours (Civil) and work in the water infrastructure branch at my local council (Logan City Council) as a design engineer. To complete my studies, I was required to produce a final year project in which I chose the field of water quality. The project is a water chlorination project that assesses different techniques of controlling decay and better improving drinking water quality at a rural community.
The IPWEAQ Futures Challenge was exciting to be a part of. It gave me the opportunity to discuss the work that I had completed over the past year with fellow peers. I felt proud of the work I had completed when many of the delegates came to discuss my project and the discoveries made. The presentation was a great way of pushing me out of my comfort zone by having to present my project to hundreds of engineers.
Exploration into big dataThe keynote address on the second day of the conference from Dr Alan Duffy about the challenges of big data was interesting. Dr Alan Duffy discussed how the immense amount of data obtained from telescopes would have been time consuming to manually process and removing irrelevant data. This reminded me of when collecting data for my dissertation I spent many hours removing all the incorrect or irrelevant data and changed the way data was collected by the local SCADA system.
The amount of data could not have been compared, however, it was easy to see parallels between how the data obtained by from telescopes was used, compared with how local government uses their own data. Dr Duffy discussed
“This was my first time to be involved personally with the IPWEAQ. The State Conference was a great event, well organised and with a great level of attendance. The team from IPWEAQ were very approachable and worked hard to deliver a highly professional and worthwhile event. We had plenty of chances to show off our new products and met many new people at the networking events. We look forward to being more involved as an industry partner to the IPWEAQ in the years ahead.” Simon Bottomley, EJ Australia
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how much of the data was ignored until the public was allowed to be access it. The public gave incite to the data that was previously ignored. This philosophy of allowing the public to interrogate data would be a different approach to be used by councils but would be difficult with privacy laws.
Phosphorus and nitrogen removal with algaeThe technical presentations were interesting. I enjoyed the presentation on phosphorus and nitrogen removal from waste water using macro algae. With environmental pressures increasing and local government required to keep up with changing
legislation, this approach of “polishing” effluent has its merits. The algae basins can easily be retrofitted to the end of small treatment plants improving the quality of the discharge.
Conference ExhibitionI attended the trade exhibition between the presentations and was impressed with the number of new products on display. The exhibition gave me the chance to discuss upcoming projects with the vendors and find solutions to existing issues. All the vendors were happy to help and provide information and samples.The stand for the Board of Professional Engineers of Queensland (BPEQ) was the most informative. Nathaniel Tunney explained the importance of being a register professional engineer in Queensland and the different pathways that could be taken to obtaining it. This information was helpful for planning the next step to my career.ConclusionThe IPWEAQ state conference was a well organised event and I recommend the event for any graduates new to the industry. Thank you for organising such a fantastic event and for creating the opportunity of the Futures Challenge for young engineers to show their work. I look forward to attending next year’s state conference on the Gold Coast.
RESIDUAL CHLORINE IMPROVEMENT IN WOODHILL WATER SUPPLY ZONE Denver Pollock, University of Southern Queensland | Logan City Council
IntroductionThe need for this study was identified when commissioning a new chlorine dosing unit at the Woodhill reservoir. It was assumed at the time that the new chlorine dosing facility would improve the chlorine penetration through the Woodhill Water Supply Zone (WSZ).By using online chlorine analysers, it was identified that the residual chlorine level did not penetrate as far into the network as previously estimated. Therefore, the Woodhill WSZ did not meet the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG) for minimum residual chlorine to ensure disinfection. This study investigates the reasons behind the lack of chlorine penetration and the methods used to improve the chlorine residual.
Table 1: Evaluation of Short Listed Techniques
BackgroundThe Woodhill WSZ is located in the southern most area of Logan City Council and is largely a rural community. The zone consists of mixed demands and separated into 8 District Metered Areas (DMAs) in which there are 4 reservoirs in service:
• Woodhill (3.0 ML);• Bluff Road (1.2 ML);• Mundoolun (0.5 ML);• Razorback (0.9 ML).
The Woodhill reservoir is the initial supply for all DMAs and reservoirs in the zone and it has the only operational chlorine booster.
MethodologyTo determine the extent of the chlorine residual, a model was developed of the Woodhill WSZ and calibrated with flow and residual chlorine data from the field. Different techniques for increasing chlorine residual fell under the following criteria:
1. Reducing Chlorine Decay2. Improving Network Operation3. Boosting Chlorine Residuals
In conjunction with LCC water operations and the LCC water quality team, the techniques were short listed and trialed in the calibrated model. Figure 1 is an example of reducing chlorine in a reservoir by passive mixing.
AcknowledgementsThe author wishes to thank University of Southern Queensland, Logan Water Infrastructure Alliance and Logan City Council’s Water Quality Team for their input and assistance with preparing this poster.
ObjectiveThe objective of this project is to:• Collect network residual chlorine data;• Assess the operation and control philosophy of the Woodhill WSZ and
the existing chlorine booster;• Determine what modifications can be made to improve the chlorine
residual achieved in the associated network by using a calibrated water model.
ResultsThe evaluation of the short listed techniques are outlined in Table 1. An example of residual chlorine improvement is shown in Figure 2.
Figure 1: Reservoir Passive Mixing
Technique Coverage Cost Implecations
Change reservoiroperation levels
5% No Cost
Change reservoir filling times
5% No Cost
Increase existing chlorine residual
10% Additional operational expenditure ($6K pa)
Trim dosing on reservoir outlet
15% Additional capital ($200K) and operational expenditure ($6K pa)
Dosing at downstream pump stations
70% Additional capital ($400K) and operational expenditure ($13K pa)
Dosing at downstream reservoirs
80% Additional capital ($600K) and operational expenditure ($21K pa)
Combinations of the successful techniques were modelled to achieve an optimum outcome. A mix of infrastructure and non-infrastructure outcomes were determined as shown in Table 2 below.
ConclusionsThe chlorine residual in the network could be improved by changing the operational philosophy of the network. However, additional chlorine dosing units were required to ensure the entire network is disinfected to ADWG guidelines.
Figure 2: Residual Chlorine Improvement
Table 2: Infrastructure and Non-Infrastructure Outcomes
Outcome Technique Coverage
Non-Infrastructure • Change reservoir operation levels• Change reservoir filling times• Increase existing chlorine residual
15%
Infrastructure and Non-Infrastructure
• Change reservoir operation levels• Trim dosing on reservoir outlet• Dosing at downstream reservoirs
95%
“Congratulations to you and the rest of the IPWEAQ team on a successful 2017 State Conference”Nathaniel Tunney, Board of Professional Engineers Queensland
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Michael Sarrun James Cook University Optimal design of multi-purpose reservoir system to meet water demands in Townsville
There is a time and there is a season, where birds of a kind flock together. That time was 24-26 October 2017, where potential employees meet potential employers, the public sector meet the private sector, to promote businesses, exchange ideas and establish relationships. It was also an event to celebrate and award engineers who have made outstanding contributions to their local communities.
What a conference it was, so many professionals to meet, so much information to digest and so much fun! #IPWEAQ17 was certainly one of the best highlights for me. It couldn’t come at a better time when the last chapter of my Civil Engineering study was about to close.
I was one of the four presenters for the Futures Challenge Project from JCU. The content of my thesis was on optimisation of multipurpose reservoir system to meet the water demands in Townsville. I was essentially looking at the feasibility of constructing a new dam at Hells Gate, near Townsville. Given the 50-year rainfall data and the projected demands, I wanted to know what size dam could be built and how much hydro-electric power can be produced. It was a delight to share my findings to a group of professionals who mostly came from outside of Townsville, and who may not have been aware of the water crisis Townsville is experiencing. Water security is essential for Townsville due to the limited water resources caused by the failed wet seasons. Therefore, investment in infrastructure such as a new dam is crucial because it eliminates recurring costs, creates massive employment potential, redistributes income, increases agricultural production and transforms the economy.
On the evening of the first day, we all stood outside the Convention Centre meeting new people, enjoying ourselves with a light meal. I met several people who did great things for their local councils,
who later won the Excellence Awards.
On the second day, my mind was blown by the sheer size of data that can be collected from space explorations. Dr Alan Duffy presented cutting edge technologies from the world of astronomy, such as the Square Kilometre Array radio telescope and the challenges of astronomical data that can potentially be collected. Some of the interesting points he made were: 1) Share your data with the public because they can provide useful insights, for example the public found that more galaxies are turning anti-clockwise than clockwise 2) It is possible to find patterns when you have big data. I suppose at the end of the day, one also needs to consider the ramification and repercussion before opening up government/company data to the public.
Scott Graham is the manager of Calibre Consulting. His take on cultural change was insightful. Usually engineers pride themselves in communication, teamwork and problem solving, but as Scott pointed out, this is inadequate because the fourth element is missing, and that is ‘implementation’. So much valuable time can be wasted when solutions aren’t implemented and when engineers failed to influence the decision makers. Scott’s tips on implementing solutions are to 1) Find the right approach 2) To keep asking what is the way to have your solutions accepted. It was also nice to hear Scott acknowledging AECOM’s cultural change on how it employs parents or grandparents back into the workforce. The premier initiative is called ‘term-only contract’. Engineers/Scientists can work during the school term and take
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12 weeks off to look after their school kids. In this respect, I’d say kudos to AECOM for being adaptive and responsive to human needs. I’m proud to say I will be joining AECOM in January 2018. Last, but not least, Scott tells us to “stop underselling ourselves” and start “showing how great a resource we are.”
The evening of the award night was a treat. We had fine food accompanied by light music and got to see awards given out to regional councils with outstanding engineering works as well as individuals who made positive contributions in engineering practice. Ray Plasto’s acceptance dance was quite hilarious. It’s not
every day you get to see a happy Larry engineer.
I really had a wonderful time. It was nice meeting new people and learning new things. I would like to thank IPWEAQ for the opportunity to participate in the conference.
InquiriesInquiries regarding the Futures Challenge or YIPWEAQ initiatves, please contact Leigh Cunningham [email protected] or Craig Moss [email protected]
SAVE THE DATESPresident's Breakfast Brisbane | 9 February 2017 SWQ Branch ConferenceGoondiwindi 15-16 March 2018NQ Branch ConferenceCairns | 18-20 April 2018CQ Branch ConferenceBarcaldine | 14-16 June 2018For more information contact Amanda Mikeleit on 3632 6802 or [email protected]
http://www.ipweaq.com/events
Introduction Townsville is situated in the dry tropics and despite having had four con-secutive failed wet seasons, Townsville’s residents are the biggest water consumer in Queensland. To compound to this water crisis, Townsville is growing and is expected to grow significantly in the next 15 years. However, the current infrastructure struggles to meet the water demand, let alone future growth. This study is aimed at examining the feasibility of constructing a new dam at Hell’s Gate near Townsville. Hydrologic and other relevant data for the catchment which contribute to the catch-ment area were used as input to determine possible optimal reservoir ca-pacity and release policies.
Methodology An Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithms (NSGAII) was used to determine how this multipurpose reservoir operation can be optimised and what release targets and what operational policies delivered the best outcome for decision makers. The objective functions for the models are:
Optimal Design of Multi-Purpose Reservoir System to Meet Water Demands in Townsville Michael V. Sarunn — Civil Engineering Supervisor: Dr. Bithin Datta
Optimisation model 1: f1 = minimise Capacity f2 = minimise Deviation = Optimisation model 2: f1 = minimise Capacity f2 = maximise hydropower =
Conclusions More detailed study is required to provide more accurate assessment. Neverthe-less, the results obtained from this study shows that: 1. The system is unable to meet the demand 10% of the time for annual de-
mand of 315.3 GL. However, it is able to meet the demands at 30% of the time with initial storage at 50% of inflow. In other words, the system is able to release better than this 70% of the time for a population projection at 2036.
2. On average, the optimal Capacity, 10% of the time, is 109 GL with 6.1 MW of hydro-electric power. The optimal Capacity, 30% of the time, is 249.1 GL with 15.3 MW of hydro-electric power. The system is able to perform better than this 70% of the time.
The solutions obtained were based on a design set that uses all the releases for power generation. This could be further refined by separating the releases to in-clude urban water demand and agricultural irrigation.
Optimisation Model 2: Annual inflow for the 10% and 30% cumulative prob-ability was 104 GL and 254.5 GL respectively. The average Capacity and Power for the 10% cumulative probability with 10%, 30% and 50% of initial inflow is 116.4 GL and 6.3 MW. Examples of optimal pareto fronts are shown in Figure 4 and 5.
Figure 4. Optimal Pareto front showing trade off between Power and Capacity for a 10% probability with initial storage = 30% of inflow.
Figure 1. Hell’s Gate, North of Townsville (NationalMap, 2017)
Hell’s Gate
Hell’s Gate
Cumulative probability at 10% and 30% was applied to the 12 monthly inflow data for the last 50 years. Two scenarios were considered: Initial storage at 10% and 50% of the annual inflow.
Figure 5. Optimal Pareto front showing trade off between Power and Capacity for a 30% probability with initial storage = 30% of inflow.
OCTOBER 2017
Results Optimisation Model 1: The model was tested under water demand projection at 2036. Water demand of 315.3 GL/pa include urban water demand and a 4 Megaton of sugar cane irrigation. Annual inflow for the 10% and 30%cumulative probability was 104 GL and 254.5 respectively. The result is shown in Table 1. Selective results are shown in Figure 2 and 3. Table 1. Monthly water shortage 10% of the time
Figure 2. Optimal Pareto front showing trade off between Capacity and water shortages (Deviation) for 10% cumulative probability with 315.3 GL (urban + 4 Mtpa) demand. The graph shows 10% of 50 years (ie 5 years), the releases cannot meet the demand.
Figure 3. Optimal Pareto front showing trade off between Capacity and Deviation for 30% cumula-tive probability with 315.1 GL (urban + 4 Mtpa) demand. The graph shows that water demands are being met 30% of the time.
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total Avg Demand (GL) 30.6 24.5 26.4 24.4 20.7 19 19.3 23 27.4 33.2 32.9 33.7 315.1 26.3 Release (GL) 25.0 22.1 21.5 22.1 20.5 18.4 20.3 20.7 21.1 24.3 23.9 25.8 265.8 22.1 Difference -5.6 -2.4 -4.9 -2.3 -0.2 -0.6 1.0 -2.3 -6.3 -8.9 -9.0 -7.9 -49.34 -4.1
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total Demand (GL) 30.6 24.5 26.4 24.4 20.7 19 19.3 23 27.4 33.2 32.9 33.7 315.1 Release (GL) 30.7 24.6 26.4 24.5 20.8 19.0 19.3 23.1 27.4 33.3 32.9 33.8 315.8 Difference (GL) 0.07 0.05 0.02 0.06 0.14 0.05 0.04 0.08 0.03 0.07 0.04 0.05 0.7
Table 2. Water demands being met 30% of the time
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2018 FUTURES CHALLENGE
IPWEAQ Futures Challenge
Final year students studying engineering and related disciplines are invited to participate in the 2018 Futures Challenge.
Students are asked to prepare an A1 poster board which clearly outlines the key elements of the students thesis or research project, their conclusions, recommendations and outcomes.
The poster boards will be displayed in the trade exhibition during the conference with delegates invited to provide advice and feedback to the students.
The poster board will:
include key elements of the thesis or research project and clearly outline conclusions, recommendations and outcomes
include appropriate text, diagrams, images, tables etc.
attract audience attention with a well-structured presentation
Presentation (finalists)
At the close of the first day of the conference program, finalists will be chosen to deliver a 10 minute presentation to delegates in the main auditorium.
Delegates will then vote on the best presentation using the conference App.
Benefits
Participating students will receive a complimentary registration to attend the 2018 IPWEAQ state conference (valued at more than $2,000). This offers an excellent opportunity for students to engage with our community and to gain further knowledge and understanding of engineering in our sector.
Students are asked to submit a 1,000 word report on their conference experience including comments and learnings from the program, other conference features eg the Great Debate, Technical Tours etc and what aspects they enjoyed most. This article will be published in the December issue of Engineering for Public Works.
The winner will receive a complimentary registration to attend the 2019 state conference to be held in Brisbane.
All participating students will be invited to present their papers at their next branch conference or technical event. They will also receive a complimentary membership to IPWEAQ for one year and an invitation to participate in the Young IPWEAQ program.
Deadlines for submission
Universities are invited to nominate student(s) by 30 June 2018.
Students selected to participate in the program will be asked to submit details of their thesis or research project by 31 July 2018. Poster boards must be submitted by 1 September 2018.
#IPWEAQ18 STATE CONFERENCE
The Marriott, Surfers Paradise10-12 October 2018www.ipweaq.com/gold-coast
INFORMS. CONNECTS. REPRESENTS. LEADS.
www.ipweaq.com
#IPWEAQ18
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This year, we’ve witnessed a positive and encouraging upward trend in the appetite for professional development across our sector. The number of programs delivered have increased to at least one course or workshop every week with some days delivering two or more courses. Additionally, attendances at each event have steadily increased with ‘registrations full’ appearing regularly now for most of our program. Feedback from delegates also now consistently rates the courses and learnings highly or ‘excellent’ with attendees taking away valuable learnings they can implement in their work practices.
This is a reflection of our approach to your continuing professional development. We invest time listening to you, whether it is direct feedback, the learnings that derive from our conference programs or the challenges we are able to identify from media or other external sources. Ultimately, it all comes down to addressing ‘needs’ and understanding the desired outcomes. Some of the initiatives to come out of this process include:
QUDM WorkshopFollowing the recent release of the Fourth Edition (2016) of the
Queensland Urban Drainage Manual (QUDM), IPWEAQ is rolling out a series of workshops that will enable industry stakeholders to interpret and apply the guidelines in an informed and consistent manner. The workshop will cover each chapter and also include specific information on aspects that have been updates since the previous version.
The first of the new QUDM Workshops will be held in Brisbane on 6 December 2017 with several more being rolled out across the state in the first half of 2018. You will also notice that more and more of our courses will be delivered in regional areas.
Introduction to Asset ManagementIPWEAQ is now offering programs that provide a practical understanding of the requirements for the collection, storage and management of asset-related data within the strategic framework of an Asset Management Plan. All staff involved in condition assessments, data management and reporting will benefit from these initiatives. The knowledge gained will complement the NAMS initiatives and address the data quality and reporting concerns identified in recent Auditor General reports.
The first of these programs is the Introduction to Asset Management. This course will provide attendees with a comprehensive overview of asset management and how it can benefit your organisation. This will be followed with programs that focus on the practical application of undertaking condition assessments and the subsequent data management a data analytics for specific asset classes.
Understanding Extended Design Domain (EDD) applicationsOne of the major challenges faced by those responsible for maintaining our road networks is how to spread an ever-reducing level of road funding over more and more projects. With restoration projects becoming the dominant type of road construction project for our sector, the consequence of retaining the existing road alignments is resulting in deficiencies against current design standards. This leads to the dilemma of providing a solution that makes the most of the existing asset while maintaining professional standards.
The Extended Design Domain (EDD) concept was developed with the aim of ensuring that reasonable capability constinues
Professional Development Update
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
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to an extent that the intents of the relevant parts of the normal design guides were still achieved. By using the EDD concept, it is then possible to upgrade longer lengths of the road network but to a lesser, yet defensible, standard thereby increasing safety of the network as a whole.
Understanding EDD applications will demonstrate the benefits that EDD provides while providing the knowledge and skills to implement a defendable solution.
Construction Safety and Site Risk ManagementCivil infrastructure works can be considered high-risk. Maintaining
constant safety awareness on a project is paramount. Many hazards are unique to the sector and are difficult to identify and control. Construction work involves the use of heavy equipment, power and hand tools as well as the use of materials such as bitumen, wood, concrete, paint and chemicals. It also involves working on public roads under traffic. The nature of the work means that hazards cannot be completely eliminated and it is the responsibility of senior staff to manage the safety risks associated with work programs in order to minimise the chance of injury or illness occurring to their work
team or to the general public.
Construction Safety and Site Risk Management explores the main concepts involved in the management of construction safety, the structural components of a risk management system and specific aspects of working in hazardous environments.
To find out more about these new programs, existing programs, or to discuss your capability needs or your career pathway, contact Craig Moss on 07 3632 6805.
Craig Moss Director, Professional & Career Development
Register now for upcoming IPWEAQ courses at: http://www.ipweaq.com/courses
24 January 2018 Queensland Urban Drainage Manual Workshop Toowoomba
07 February 2018 Queensland Urban Drainage Manual Workshop Sunshine coast
13/14 February 2018 Road Safety Audit Brisbane
15 February 2018 Road Safety Audit Refresher Brisbane
21 February 2018 Queensland Urban Drainage Manual Workshop Gold Coast
27 February 2018 Managing Risks on Lower Order Roads Gladstone
28 February 2018 Managing Risks on Lower Order Roads Rockhampton
06 March 2018 Queensland Urban Drainage Manual Workshop Townsville
07 March 2018 Queensland Urban Drainage Manual Workshop Cairns
13 March 2018 Managing Risks on Lower Order Roads Bundaberg
20/21 March 2018 Road Safety Audit Townsville
22 March 2018 Road Safety Audit Refresher Townsville
27 March 2018 Managing Risks on Lower Order Roads Barcaldine
To enquire about having any of our programs delivered in-house, please contact Craig Moss, Director Professional and Career Development on 07 3632 6805 or [email protected].
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The Group’s three core brands, Delnorth®, Dura-Post® and Signfix™ share a heritage of high quality safety products that are specified for use in all states and territories in Australia.
The Group is headquartered at a 1.7-hectare industrial complex in the Hunter Valley NSW with separate warehouses in Launceston and Brisbane that collectively support our national sales team to serve customers across the country.
In Australia, the Group manufacturers the full spectrum of roadside guide posts, asset marker posts, impact resistant signposts, lane dividers, steel bollards, flexible signage and associated accessories.
IPWEAQ welcomes our new Partner, Delnorth Group Pty Ltd
Delnorth Group is an Australian designer, manufacturer and distributor of roadside and asset marker products for the infrastructure, construction, mining and utility industries.
Jim Baylis National Sales Manager Delnorth Roadside Products [email protected] Mob 0408 644 032 | Ph +61 2 4033 6500
Scott Bowden National Sales Manager Signfix Australia [email protected] Mob 0477 001 134 | Ph 1300 174 463
Our leading products include the Delnorth Steel-Flex® flexible steel post and the Dura-Post Flexi360® post system. Complementing our manufactured products is an extensive range of Roadpro® traffic control products, which include wheel stops, speed humps, traffic cones, T top bollards, and LED 360 warning lights.
The Group’s Signfix™ division is operated separately as a wholesale supply business to the national road signage and mining industries. Signfix™ is a market leader in high quality fixing systems and aluminium frangible poles designed for passive impact for road users.
The Group continues to focus on product innovation and solutions to better serve our customers and ultimately to provide a safer environment for all Australian road users.
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Scott Young Corporate Manager, Business Improvement Stabilised Pavements of Australia Pty Ltd
Graham Hennessy Chief Executive Officer AustStab Ltd
Lime stabilisation of subgrades to improve the California Bearing Ratio (CBR) in local government roads is not a new concept and has been widely used and accepted for many decades in Queensland. The process of spreading and mixing lime into non-compliant subgrade materials is simple and effective where permanent CBR improvements can be increased by a factor of well over 10.
The most common construction standard in Queensland is to mix the lime into the subgrade material over a two-day period to facilitate amelioration and breakdown of heavy clay particles. The spreading and mixing requirement in TMR’s construction specification, (MRTS07A Insitu Stabilised Subgrades using Quicklime or Hydrated Lime) is based on research that optimised the amelioration period. This research found maximum improvements to unconfined compressive strength (UCS) measurements of lime stabilised subgrade materials when the material was stabilised with a 14-hour amelioration period. Local government’s adaptation of TMR’s specification that requires lime to be mixed over a minimum two-day period (to allow for the 14-hour amelioration period) is considered conservative in local government applications. This is due to the significant difference in the way subgrades are designed at state and local government levels.
The inconsistency that exists within the local government industry is the design and construction practices of stabilised subgrades (eg. a new housing subdivision or rehabilitation of an existing road). Whilst the design often has a requirement for the subgrade CBR to achieve
a minimum CBR (say 5%), the corresponding construction specification which commonly follows TMR’s MRTS07A stipulates that the lime must be mixed over a two-day period (driven by the amelioration period and desire to achieve a target UCS of 1.5MPa). This construction practice is significantly conservative for local government to the point where it is unnecessary and costly.
This paper explores and compares single day and multiple day mixing processes with an emphasis on the effect of strength gain measured by UCS and CBR and how these correlate to the intended design outcomes. It will be shown that a single day mixing process with no amelioration period of the lime-soil mixture is sufficient in achieving the majority of local government design assumptions.
BACKGROUNDDesign and construction of lime stabilised subgrades is a well understood concept across Australia and particularly QLD where this treatment has been used significantly for many decades to provide economical benefits to asset owners in lieu of removing and replacing unsuitable materials. The process of mixing lime into subgrade materials is well documented and Little (1995) references the use of Two-Stage
EFFECT OF REMOVING THE AMELIORATION PERIOD ON DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF LIME STABILISED SUBGRADES IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT TECHNICAL ARTICLE
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Mixing whereby 100% of the required lime is mixed on the first day with a second pulverising mix carried out on the second, third or even fourth day. This ‘mellowing’ or amelioration period between mixes is designed to allow the clay particles to achieve effective breakdown through optimisation of the chemical reactions between the plastic particles and the lime. Little (1995) also notes that the mellowing period is best suited to heavy, plastic clays.
Austroads (2006) suggests that amelioration periods from 4 to 72 hours are considered with the lime being added in two stages.
TMR stipulate in their mix design and construction specifications that lime is to be added in two stages to facilitate an amelioration period of at least one day and up to 3 days for heavy clays. The primary desire for this is to ensure there is adequate breakdown of the clay particles (100% passing 19mm sieve and > 60% passing 9.5mm sieve) to allow effective chemical reactions and hence strength gain, with the latter being a target UCS of 1.5MPa and range between 1.0 and 2.0 MPa (TMR, TN74).
Many local government areas follow the above construction principle of specifying a two-stage mixing process. Townsville City Council is one example who note, ‘Lime stabilisation of subgrade material shall be carried out as a two-day operation to a minimum depth of 250mm…’ in their Lime Stabilisation sub section of Council’s City Plan.
PROBLEM STATEMENTThere is a clear disparity in the way each local and state government carries out pavement designs. TMR target compressive strengths of
1.5MPa whilst most local council’s design their pavements based on the CBR of subgrade materials, usually with a maximum value of 10% and sometimes up to 15-20%. Some examples include:Brisbane City Council:
Mackay Regional Council:
Western Downs Regional Council:
Gladstone Regional Council:
The problem is that local government in most cases is over specifying the construction requirements. Given local government only require their subgrades to achieve a CBR of say 5-10%, this is usually achieved easily with lime stabilisation when existing subgrade materials are less than 5%. The question is whether or not the two-stage mixing process currently being specified by councils is necessary and what benefit is obtained from being specified.
Based on the current TMR laboratory testing requirements for lime stabilised materials, samples from this research will be tested for UCS and CBR with no amelioration period and 24-hour amelioration period. The former is designed to replicate a process whereby 100% of the lime is mixed into the subgrade material at the same time. It is recognised that
often due to higher spread rates, the lime may need to be spread and mixed twice, however this is usually done within a matter of hours and in effect facilitates some amelioration. Hence, the laboratory testing at zero hours is conservative. The 24-hour amelioration period is designed to replicate what is commonly observed in the field where the second half of the lime is mixed into the subgrade material on the second day.
The objective is to explore the effect on not only UCS and CBR strength gains, but other characteristics such as material breakdown with both amelioration periods. Comparison will then be made with the common local government design parameter to use CBR for subgrade modelling rather than UCS.
MATERIAL SAMPLESSubgrade soil samples were collected from two locations in Queensland, one in north Queensland and one in south east Queensland. Each location can be described as:
NQ Soil: Exposed subgrade at Stockland Northshore development, Townsville.
SQ Soil: Exposed subgrade at Warrego Hwy on the Charlton Upgrade Stage 2, ~1.7km west of Kingsthorpe Haden Rd, E/B carriageway slow lane (~20km west of Toowoomba).
MATERIAL TESTING PROGRAMMaterial samples from both locations were subjected to a variety of tests following TMR’s Technical Note 151: Testing of Materials for Lime Stabilisation as shown in Table 1.
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Table 1. Testing Program
Tests J through M did not have an amelioration period, while tests N through Q had the lime added in equal amounts across two stages with the samples allowed to mellow for 24 hrs prior to testing.
LABORATORY TEST RESULTSTable 2. Untreated Material CharacteristicsCharacteristic Spec Requirement NQ Soil SQ SoilPSD > 25% passing 0.425mm 87% 78%
MDD 1.744 t/m3 1.468 t/m3
OMC 17.2% 29.9%Atterberg Limits PI > 10% 21.2% 27.2%Organic Content < 1.0% 0.8% 1.0%Sulfate Content < 0.3% 0.16% 0.43%Ferrous Oxide (FeO) < 2.0% 0.05% 2.28%4 day soaked CBR 3.0% 3.5%Lime Demand (LD) 3% 5%Capillary Rise Time to 100% 2.0 hrs 2.5 hrs
The lime demand results of 3% and 5% for the NQ and SQ soils respectively are illustrated in Table 3. Eades and Grim (1966) refer to lime demand as being the least amount of lime required when the pH is above 12.4 and three consecutive results are within 0.05 of each other.
Table 3. Lime Demand Results
Lime % 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7SQ Soil 7.75 10.2 11.39 12.3 12.68 12.79 12.79 12.81NQ Soil 7.85 12.26 12.9 12.96 12.96 12.94 12.96 12.96
The Lime Demand for each soil was used as the starting point for subsequent testing of UCS and CBR testing.
Treated Material CharacteristicsLime contents used for each of these tests is shown in Table 4.
Table 4. Laboratory Lime Contents
SQ Soil NQ SoilCBR 0%, 3%, 5%, 7% 0%, 1%, 3%, 5%, 7%UCS 3%, 5%, 7% 1%, 3%, 5%, 7%Swell 0%, 3%, 5%, 7% 0%, 1%, 3%, 5%, 7%PSD 0%, 5% 0%, 3%Cap. Rise 0%, 5% 0%, 3%
The application rates in bold indicate the lime demand (LD) percentage.
The selection of a lime application rate whether it be based on CBR, UCS or other criteria, often has 0.5-1.0% added to the Lime Demand (LD) percentage to allow for construction tolerances and host material variances.
The following Application Rates (AR) were selected:
SQ Soil: AR = LD + 1% NQ Soil: AR = LD + 1% AR = 6% AR = 4%
CBRAt AR+1%, the SQ soil exhibited CBR’s between 55% and 65%, whilst the NQ soil exhibited CBR’s between 20% and 30%.
Figure 2. CBR Results
UCSFor the SQ Soil, the ameliorated samples returned results ranging from approximately 10-30% higher
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than the non-ameliorated samples, apart from the 7% application rate which showed no difference. For the NQ Soil, there was no distinct pattern from no amelioration to 24 hours amelioration.
Figure 3. SQ Soil UCS Results
CASE STUDY EXAMPLEScenario:
A local council designs a new pavement for a residential development that resembles the schematic shown in Figure 4, with a design subgrade of CBR 5.
Figure 4. Example LG Pavement Design
Consider the materials described in this paper from SQ and NQ which have insitu CBRs of 3.5% and 3% respectively. Given these characteristics do not meet the design CBR of 5%, the local council has decided to stabilise the subgrade to a thickness of 300mm.
Austroads 2017 have included the equation shown below with accompanying conditions for the selection of a design CBR on a stabilised subgrade.
Using the Austroads equation to establish the design CBR of the stabilised subgrade, we get the following:
SQ Soil: CBR SS = 3.5 x 2 (300/150) = 14%
NQ Soil: CBR SS = 3.0 x 2 (300/150) = 12%
Since the above results are lower than all laboratory test results and are less than 15%, these values would therefore be deemed design CBRs for the stabilised subgrade from which the overlying pavement can then be designed from empirical or mechanistic means. In contrast, the use of design CBR values of 14% and 12% for the stabilised subgrades are still considered conservative given the laboratory test results far exceed these values.
CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONSThe outcomes provided from the laboratory testing program and the case study enables a firm conclusion to be drawn on the impact of incorporating lime into subgrade materials with or without an amelioration period. Supporting outcomes from this research for local government applications are:
1. In most local government cases, lime stabilisation of subgrades is often implemented to improve CBR’s up to values of at least 5% in order to meet design assumptions and provide suitable working platforms.
2. Regardless of the soil improvement characteristic, the minimum amount of lime to be used should always be at least the Lime Demand percentage with 0.5-1.0% added to ensure the engineering property improvements remain permanent.
3. The use of TMR guidelines for design purposes in local government provides a conservative outcome (lime stabilised subgrades only).
4. The use of TMR specifications for construction of lime stabilised subgrades with a minimum 2
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day mixing process in local government is unnecessary.
5. There was no conclusive evidence of any well correlated rise in UCS between 0 and 24 hours amelioration.
6. The difference in CBR obtained by using Lime Demand +1% application rates with or without an amelioration period has no effect on the ability of the stabilised subgrade to meet the CBR design requirements. Using the Austroads design approach is conservative with a maximum permitted stabilised subgrade design CBR of 15%, where field results in heavy clays ranged from 22% to 55%.
7. Local government authorities should specify in their construction documents
amendments to the current TMR specifications that incorporation of 100% of lime can be carried out without applying an amelioration period in most cases. The use of Annexure MRTS07A.1 can satisfy this change. Alternatively local government should specify this in their own documentation.
Scott Young BE (Hons), RPEng (Civil), RPEQ is the Corporate Manager, Business Improvement, Stabilised Pavements of Australia Pty Ltd and can be contacted on [email protected].
Graham Hennessy BSc (Geology), BA (Geography) is the Chief Executive Officer, AustStab Ltd and can be contacted on [email protected].
An Australian First For EJWhere Waste Sucks
Queensland’s Sunshine Coast Council is about to take on a $21 million Australian pioneering venture in waste collection technology with the installation of the Swedish developed hi-tech Envac Waste System, as part of the extensive redevelopment of the Maroochydore City Centre.
Shadforths Civil has specified the supply of EJ heavy duty MAXIMO™ 800 covers from the French foundry and from the US, a hinged hatch with a clear opening of 1200mm x 1200mm, plus locally manufactured Electrical Pit Brass Edged Covers. Stainless Steel Step Irons from UK completed this project’s checklist.
Sewerage, storm water and electrical infrastructure requiring hatches and covers including 200+ Stainless Steel Edged Covers for Energex pits, are also on order. For more information, please call your nearest EJ branch or phone 07 3216 5000.
“Thank you also for a great State Conference in Townsville last week. It was a well-received event and your speakers were excellent. The venue was also very pleasant and a lot of information sharing and networking were conducted.” Pierre Neethling, Gladstone Regional Council
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Rachel from Rockhampton was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2006. Just before graduating from high school, Rachel mysteriously went almost completely blind one day. An emergency medical flight to Brisbane and a multitude of tests later, she was told she had MS.
Whilst facing life with MS seemed daunting, Rachel embraced her diagnosis and is now helping others to live positively with the condition. She became a MS Queensland Young Ambassador, got married and gave birth to a beautiful baby boy and has actively involved herself in our fundraising events including
the local MS Swimathon in Rockhampton.
For Rachel “being an MS Ambassador is very important to me as I feel Central Queensland needs to know more about the effects of MS. It also enables me to be able to present specific regional needs for the Rockhampton area back to MS Queensland to enable service improvements.”
In the past two years Rachel has played a crucial role helping us establish the 12-hour Rockhampton MS Swimathon. Our MS Swimathon program is one of Queensland’s fastest-growing charity events and was introduced to Rockhampton for the first time last year in 2013. Rachel was our ‘on the ground’ contact and became the swim’s highest fundraiser, raising more than $2,400 for MS.
Rachel said “the first MS Swimathon was a really exciting event for Rockhampton and funds raised from the swim were solely dedicated to assist people with MS in our region.”
“MS Queensland offers people living with MS a wealth of knowledge and services and it’s great to know they offer options for anyone, at any age, to help raise those much needed funds we need to keep going.”
“For me MS is a constant struggle between what I would like to do and what I am able to do. It presents new challenges every day and MS Queensland is actively working in communities to help people like me overcome these hurdles.”
Although MS has stopped Rachel from doing certain things, she is a determined person and will not let MS get the better of her!
IPWEAQ President Seren McKenzie has chosen MS Queensland as the President’s Charity for her term. Please help us raise funds to support people like Rachel by participating in any of the following branch fundraising events. Non-members welcome! Register yourself, friends and family members online at http://www.ipweaq.com/president-s-charity:
Swimathon Rockhampton - Saturday 17 March 2018 – CQ Branch
Swimathon Cairns - Friday 20 April 2018 – NQ Branch
Swimathon Griffith - Sunday 11 February 2018 – SEQ Branch
Swimathon Gold Coast - Sunday 25 February 2018 – SEQ Branch
Brissie to the Bay bike ride - Brisbane, Sunday 17 June – SEQ Branch
Moonlight Walk – TBC
MS QUEENSLANDPRESIDENT’S CHARITY
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Welcome to New Members
• Matthew Arnold • Richard Back • Moises Barrera
Martinez • Katherine Brand • David Bremert • Christopher Brown • Suzanne Brown • Scott Campbell • Bibi Chadun • Baijie Chen • Scott Christensen • Nathan Clark • Graham Coles • Max Crossley • Alister Daly • Nicholas Debritz • Pascal Diem • Stuart Doyle • Alex Egerton • Damian Flintham • Jacob Franklin • Mark Fuller
• Mark Gibson • James Goodman • Perry Gould • Stuart Grallelis • David Gresik • Jeffrey Heit • Matt Hendriks • Greg Henwood • Alicia Heritage • Carolina Hernandez • Alan Hoban • Mike Holeszko • Chantal Horton • Steve Hughes • Shane Hull • William Hutton • Darron Irwin • Heath Jones • Brett Langtree • James Li • Daniel Marais • Gary Marshall • Ryan McKenzie
• Tom McKinney • Ben McMaster • Cameron Meizer • Graham Miller • Patrick Moore • Jonathan Neale • Frances Nelligan • Fei Ngoo • Michael Nicholls • Janelle Ogg • Catherine Papa • Matthew Parker • Joe Pickering • John Polin • Denver Pollock • Chris Porter • John Postlethwaite • Lachlan Rankine • Angela Ransom • Zac Richardson • Paul Rickert • Patrick Rolfe • Michael Sarunn
• Glenys Schuntner • Blaise Shann • Jared Skinnerty • Will Somerville • Glenn Spires • Eric Spronck • Robert Stewart • Pippa Sullivan • Simeons Svilans • David Taylor • Dinesh Thapa • Guy Thomas • Matthew Tiller • Daniel Tingley • Jeremy Wagner • Michael Wanrooy • Mitchell Weatherhead • Kym Wilkinson • Daniel Wood • Justine Yeong • Matthew Yin
Membership is open to anyone actively engaged in the delivery of public works and services in Queensland.
Join now www.ipweaq.com/membership
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Sarah Hausler Senior Associate, McCullough Robertson Lawyers & Tony Loveday Principal Engineer, General Manager Surface Water, Hydraulics and Infrastructure, RMA Engineers
Have you ever wondered if a Lawful Point of Discharge (LPOD) is necessary to meet legal requirements? Well, it’s now in black and white. QUDM has been updated to reflect the law, remove confusion and avoid the misconception that a LPOD to a road or easement must be provided in every situation.
BackgroundSince 1992, the QUDM section about off-site water discharge has included a test for “Lawful Point of Discharge (LPOD)”. That test required:
(a) the location of the discharge to be under the lawful control of the local government or other statutory authority, from whom permission to discharge has been received; and
(b) in discharging to that location,
the discharge will not cause an actionable nuisance, or environmental or property damage.
The interpretation and application of the LPOD test was complicated because the definition of LPOD in the Glossary included a ‘no worsening requirement’, but the substantive provisions in QUDM about LPOD only included a ‘no actionable nuisance requirement’.
The LPOD test was almost universally (mis)interpreted to mean that all development requires a formal LPOD.
For sites that discharge to private property, rather than to a road reserve or similar, that interpretation, in turn, has been taken to mean an easement or discharge agreement.
Easements and discharge agreements are becoming more and more difficult (in many cases, impossible) to obtain. The end result is that developable land is being quarantined for want of an easement/discharge approval.
No nuisanceThe situation in law is, and has always been, that discharge to
an adjoining property is “lawful” provided that it does not result in nuisance (and provided that all necessary approvals have been obtained and the discharge does not contravene the terms of an easement or other contract between the neighbours).
A private nuisance is a substantial and unreasonable interference with the private right to the use and enjoyment of land. To establish a cause of action in nuisance the plaintiff must demonstrate the interference was both substantial and unreasonable, and caused quantifiable damage to the plaintiff. Mere annoyance is not sufficient. It is not necessary to show that the defendant’s actions were intentional or negligent.
Obtaining consent from the affected land owner (through a discharge agreement, drainage easement or drainage reserve) is only necessary where there is a risk the stormwater changes will cause a nuisance i.e. where there is a risk of substantial damage to the third party property.
Consequences of a rigid approachApplying a rigid “every
The new Lawful Point of Discharge test in QUDM 2016. Do you need it? LEGAL ARTICLE
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development requires a LPOD” or ‘no worsening‘ requirement has positive and negative consequences.
On the positive side, it potentially reduces the number of complaints and Court actions and removes the need for professional judgment and discretion in development assessment.
On the negative side, the quarantining of otherwise developable land results in: increased urban sprawl; inefficient use of the land bank; refusal of otherwise acceptable
or desirable development.
There are already some Council areas where development of land that slopes to an adjoining property has been made effectively impossible by rigid LPOD requirements that do not reflect the law.
Application of a rigid approach is also likely to be associated with a community expectation that the Council will be responsible for all neighbourhood disputes about stormwater drainage.
The application of a rigid approach is not necessary for Councils to avoid liability for stormwater drainage changes. Councils’ liability in nuisance and other civil actions is limited under the Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld). A court is required to consider the Council’s functions, financial and other resources, general procedures and standards.
In addition, a Council cannot be liable for a breach of statutory duty (e.g. in development assessment) unless the relevant act or omission was so unreasonable that no Council having the
functions of that Council could properly consider the act or omission to be a reasonable exercise of its functions.
This provides significant protection against cases relating to planning and development assessment functions carried out in good faith by Councils.
The application of a rigid approach could also have unintended consequences by, for example, enabling a land owner to argue that Council should be liable because ‘Council has a policy of requiring no worsening, and the new development has worsened the water levels on my privately-owned land, even though my land is constrained by creek corridor zoning’.
The ‘do you need it’ testQUDM is a manual for uniform and best practice urban drainage practices and engineering. It does not have any legal force in its own right.
QUDM 2016 aligns the LPOD test with the law by inserting a “do you need it” test:
“i. Will the proposed development alter the site’s stormwater discharge characteristics in a manner that may substantially damage a third party property?
If not, then no further steps are required to obtain tenure for a lawful point od discharge . . . “
In simple terms, if discharge from a proposed development does not create a nuisance, then the discharge is, of itself, lawful. No formal LPOD is required.
It is the developer’s responsibility to not cause nuisance, rather than the regulator’s responsibility to
assess and condition works to prevent a nuisance.
Policy choice for Councils QUDM does not require Councils to provide greater protection to downstream owners than that available by an action in nuisance, nor does it prevent Councils from doing so through their planning schemes. It is not QUDM’s role to set the policy position for stormwater management across Queensland. That is a matter for Councils as part of their land use planning policy resulting from weighing up the likely positive and negative consequences of a more rigid approach.
Councils may also elect whether their planning schemes include assessment benchmarks that address the potential stormwater changes that could cause a nuisance, or other impacts that the Council wishes to manage.
Development assessment requires professional skill and judgment
QUDM 2016, section 3.6, outlines the types of changes in discharge behaviour which might create nuisance, but also cautions that “In most cases it is impractical, if not impossible, for urban development to occur without resulting in some form of change to the stormwater runoff characteristics of the developed land.” In fact, in many situations runoff changes do not cause nuisance. The potential for nuisance is very site specific. The types of changes that developers need to consider in determining whether or not there is a potential for nuisance include:(a) Diversion(b) Concentration(c) Peak discharge(d) Frequency and duration(e) Velocity
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(f) Volume(g) Quality(h) Future use
Typically, only one or two of these might be important on any specific site, and not all can be mitigated. In particular, QUDM notes that “. . . it is generally impractical to significantly mitigate increases in runoff volume caused by urbanisation.”
The application of standard approval conditions that generically require “No worsening of flow rates, volume, time to peak, volume and frequency . . .” are at risk of being unlawful under section 65 of the Planning Act 2016 (Qld) because such conditions:
may be an unreasonable imposition on development, because the condition relates to some theoretical development impact rather than the development and impacts actually proposed; and
may not be reasonably required in relation to the development,
because the condition is not a reasonable response to the change arising from the development.
In order for conditions to be lawful they must be informed by the particular impacts of the proposed development. The imposition of lawful conditions requires experienced judgment. For example:
Most urban development increases the impervious surface of the site and the volume of runoff. A requirement not to worsen volume will generally be impossible to achieve. By contrast, a condition that limits the increase in volume or impervious surface in response to a known risk is likely to be lawful.
A condition that prohibits a worsening in peak flow rates where those flows that will not have any tangible impact on other properties in the catchment is unlikely to be lawful. However, a condition that limits the peak
discharge to the capacity of downstream infrastructure is likely to be lawful.
ConclusionThe revised LPOD test is intended to more clearly reflect the general law, and hopefully make the legal content of QUDM more accessible to its users. The LPOD test may assist users to determine whether consent is required for stormwater discharge arising from development.
The LPOD test does not pre-determine the policy issue of what standard of drainage outcomes a Council should require in its local government area.
The LPOD test does not promote generic conditions of approval that are not informed by the specific impacts of the development and the application of skilled engineering judgment.
The revisions to QUDM will continue to drive Queensland engineers to achieve best practice outcomes for our communities.
“At TRC, I am the ISG Portfolio Chair, hence I am keenly interested
in all the developments occurring across our whole LG industry.
The IPWEAQ State Conference enables me to stay up-to-date with
contemporary issues happening with public works engineering across
the state. Staying knowledgeable on the wide variety of issues that
challenge our local government engineering portfolios is a full-time
job. The opportunities this conference enables through professional
presentation and networking is second to none. I find it very valuable
and a rewarding experience.”
Cr Carol Taylor, Deputy Mayor, Toowoomba Regional Council
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The Queensland Urban Drainage Manual (QUDM) is an engineering guideline that addresses the technical, legal, regulatory and environmental aspects of effective drainage systems. It provides details of appropriate design methods and computational procedures, and covers both hydrologic and hydraulic procedures
Prices (plus GST)
Members Non- members
PDF 200 500
QUDM workshops - an overview of the fourth edition (2016) including discussion on each chapter with specific references to updates on the previous edition QUDM (2013)
Queensland Urban Drainage Manual Workshop
Toowoomba - 24 January 2018
Sunshine Coast - 07 February 2018
Gold Coast - 21 February 2018
Townsville - 06 March 2018
Cairns - 07 March 2018
Gladstone - 02 May 2018
Rockhampton - 01 May 2018
Bundaberg - 23 May 2018
Purchase QUDM or Register Online for Workshops https://ipweaq.eventsair.com/MemberPortal/ipweaq-master-contact-store/ipweaq-member-portal/ShoppingCart
Contact Craig [email protected] 07 3632 6805Benn Barr, Deputy Director-General, Water Supply, Department of
Energy and Water Supply (DEWS). And Frank Scheele, Senior Engineer, South Burnett Regional Council (912)
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2017-2018 IPWEAQ CONFERENCE GRAND SLAM
INFORMS. CONNECTS. REPRESENTS. LEADS.
WESTERN ROADS SYMPOSIUM LONGREACHIn partnership with the Longreach Regional Council and TMR
SWQ BRANCH CONFERENCEGOONDIWINDIIn partnership with the Goondiwindi Regional Council
CQ BRANCH CONFERENCEBARCALDINEIn partnership with George Bourne & Associates
QLDWATER ANNUAL FORUM,
‘no pain, no gain’ BRISBANE
STATE CONFERENCE
TOWNSVILLE ‘sustainability through
inspired leadership and community engagement ’.
NQ BRANCH CONFERENCE
CAIRNSIn partnership with the
Cairns Regional Council
6-7 September2017
15-16 March 2018
14-16June 2018
6-7 September
2017
24-26 October
2017
18-20 April2018
Attend any five events to be in the
running for the
2017-2018 GRAND SLAM
AWARD
SEQ BRANCH TECHNICAL SERIES COMMENCING JULY 2017
Steel Mains has a long and distinguished history with IPWEAQ and its members delivering lasting critical water infrastructure to our communities. I’m grateful to the support of Steel Mains enabling me to attend IPWEAQ conferences.Greg Kennedy Regional Sales Manager Steel Mains Pty Ltd Winner 2016-2017 Grand Slam award
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q l d w at e r c e o ’ s r e p o r t
In the last edition I focused on the many strengths of the Queensland Water Regional Alliance Program and the importance of securing an ongoing state grant to support this work for developing collaboration in regional Queensland. The election has been called at the time of writing, the LGAQ has put a significant effort into attracting the support of all major political parties, and we await a positive result.
This report focuses on water industry benchmarking, which is underpinned by the Statewide Water Information Management System (SWIM).
Performance reporting is a structured and continuous process that allows service providers to assess performance and identify and adapt fit-for-purpose practices. Transparent reporting of performance linked with regulatory incentives and penalties is common in many jurisdictions and is seen as essential for competition by comparison. Queensland was criticised in the Draft Productivity Commission report in 2017 for a lack of mature competition by comparison. However, performance reporting processes are well established across the State through SWIM and the State’s mandatory KPI framework.
The major challenge now is moving towards benchmarking
and competition by comparison, a difficult aim across Queensland because of the diversity of communities (and the utilities servicing them): 72 entities service the state,
and over 50% of the potable schemes service fewer than 500 people;
There are differences in the capability available to a small community which is part of a larger regional council, compared to an isolated community in a remote area;
Further complicating factors (contributing to costs and impacting efficiency) include density, community habits including water use, the quality of source water, environmental sensitivity in the catchment and even soil types which can contribute significantly to how long an asset can remain in service.
As we move towards 2018, we continue to look for enhancements to established processes, developing comparison groups and benchmarking trials for the ultimate benefit of Queensland’s urban water and sewerage customers.
90.3 % of all service providers report via SWIM64.7% of indigenous councils report via SWIM98.2% of non-indigenous council report via SWIM26 SWIM Local subscribers
SWIM currently captures annual compliance data and following a series of QA processes, reports them to regulatory agencies including the state Department of Energy and Water Supply (DEWS), Bureau of Meteorology (for National Water Act and National Performance Report purposes) and the Australian Bureau of Statistics. While the system is capable of dealing with data at any level, most regulators only require key indicators to be reported at a whole of provider level, rather than at the “scheme” which is necessary as a minimum for effective benchmarking.
qldwater has produced a series of voluntary benchmarking reports since 2011/12 which were designed to get service providers used to the concept, with de-identified comparative reports prior to that. Many councils continue to use the information in these reports as an evidence base to justify investment. DEWS produced its first mandatory comparative report based on 2014/15 data. Voluntary benchmarking takes time to build participation, but it is also an ideal model to refine and improve indicators, “cluster” similar service providers, and eventually, build more detailed scheme-based comparisons.
While it has taken Queensland some time to catch up to other
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jurisdictions in realising the benefits of reporting and benchmarking, with SWIM we are fortunate in having best system in the country to mature these activities and look to 2018 to start taking real advantage of that capability.
Dave Cameron qldwater - The Queensland Water Directorate T: (07) 3632 6854 M: 0407 761 991 W: www.qldwater.com.au
Toowoomba Regional Council’s Mt Kynoch Scheme has been voted the ‘top drop’ at the Ixom Best Tasting Tap Water in Australia competition which took place in Launceston in October. The competition was judged by around 150 residents of Launceston, the city which took home last year’s title.
The water from Toowoomba’s Mt Kynoch Scheme was judged the best in Queensland at the qldwater 2016 Ixom Best of the Best Queensland Water Taste Test and in June 2017, defeated the NSW/ACT entry in the “Water of Origin” Taste Test which took place at the WIOA Conference in Logan, making it a favourite to take out the Australia wide Competition.
Toowoomba’s water then defeated Icon Water (ACT/NSW), Morgan (SA); Fenton/New Norfolk (Tas) and Goulburn Valley Water’s Merrijig (Vic) at the Ixom Best Tap Tasting Tap Water in Australia competition, where the samples were judged on a variety of features including colour, clarity and odour. Craig Mathieson from WIOA, who hosted the competition said that the best water had to be clear
and transparent but the true test was taste. See photos at WIOA SmugMug webpage.
Toowoomba will now go on to represent Australia at the
International Water Tasting Competition to be held in the USA at Berkeley Springs, West Virginia in February 2018. Good luck Toowoomba Regional Council!
Toowoomba’s Top Drop
John Mills, Manager Water Operations, Water and Waste Services, Toowoomba Regional Council.
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m e e t t h e t e a m
HEATHER GOLD | Project [email protected] manages qldwater Member Services and stakeholder engagement. She also coordinates conferences and manages events and industry communications including website management. Heather comes from a background in hotel management and project management in real estate and has been with the Queensland Water Directorate since 2006.
RYAN COSGROVE | Project Coordinator and [email protected] is qldwater’s newest employee commencing in May 2017 as a project coordinator and researcher. Ryan’s currently undertaking a major research project for the Queensland Water Regional Alliance Program and the administration of the South-East Queensland water design and construction code. Prior to joining qldwater Ryan worked within the fast-moving consumer goods industry.
ROB FEARON | Director, Innovation [email protected] Rob commenced with qldwater in 2006 as CEO and is currently the Director, Innovation Partnerships. Rob’s current major project focus is the Queensland Water Regional Alliances Program and he has also recently undertaken significant work on the industry led Code of Practice for Pumping Stations and Networks. Rob has over eighteen years of experience in water industry roles across Local, State and Commonwealth Governments.
DESIRÉ GRALTON | Manager, [email protected]é has over fifteen years’ experience in Public Relations and Communications with a particular focus on community engagement and corporate publications. Desiré commenced with qldwater in 2011 and works part-time managing qldwater’s website, communications such as newsletters and promotional materials and assisting with event planning and other projects.
DAVID SCHELTINGA | Manager, [email protected] commenced with qldwater in 2011 and is responsible for managing the State-wide Water Information Management (SWIM) program. David has worked on indicators and assessment frameworks at local, State and national levels for over 15 years and has vast experience with running training sessions and workshops. He currently works remotely from Hervey Bay.
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An unassuming North Queensland community nestled between Cairns, Cape York Peninsula and the Gulf of Carpentaria made waves at the IPWEAQ Excellence Awards evening last month, taking out the Innovation in Water Award as well as the Women in Engineering Award.
Mareeba Shire Council collected the award for innovation in water, wastewater, sewerage and drought for the Mareeba Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade Project – a great achievement for the team under the strong leadership and
professional approach of Mareeba Shire Council’s Acting Director Infrastructure Services Glenda Kirk, who also took home the Woman in Engineering Award.
Ms Kirk believes that Council managed to strike the balance between environmental and financial sustainability with the $16 million upgrade set to cater for population growth over a 20-year horizon while delivering significant environmental benefits.
“The existing Sewage Treatment Plant, constructed in 1967, consisted of a trickle filter system
MAREEBA WINS INNOVATION IN WATER AWARD WATER ARTICLE
16 January 2017 - Downer's Project Manager and MSC Manager WW inspect the SBR construction.
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designed to reduce biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), suspended solids and faecal coliforms,” Ms Kirk explained.
“With no capability to reduce nitrogen or phosphorus and being hydraulically overloaded, the ageing facility had failed to meet environmental licence conditions since the 1990s. We needed a cost effective alternative to the $30 million proposal for a new Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) previously considered prior to de-amalgamation from the Tablelands Regional Council.”
Driven by a need for action and a lower ratepayer base, Mareeba Shire Council came up with a new way forward to deliver an outcome for its ratepayers that was affordable and environmentally responsible.
Crunching the NumbersAccording to Mareeba Manager Water & Waste, Morris Hamill, Council identified that an upgrade to the existing facility would be
far more affordable to construct and operate than a complete replacement.
“Furthermore, upgrading the existing plant would not trigger the requirement for a new (more strict) Environmental Authority.”
During the early process design phase, it was confirmed that it would be cost-prohibitive to meet the existing licence conditions in relation to ammonia levels within the final effluent. Council successfully negotiated an amendment to the licence to deliver a refurbishment outcome that would ensure protection of the environment within budget.
Mareeba Shire Council secured grant funding of $6 million from the Australian Government’s National Stronger Regions Fund and $1.5 million from the Queensland Government, with the remainder funded by Council through increased sewerage access charges.
Innovation in ActionDowner Utilities Australia Pty Ltd designed and constructed a Sequence Batch Reactor (SBR) for biological and nutrient removal which consists of two bioreactors, initially configured as a dual-basin SBR. This solution was adopted as it provided the greatest benefit in terms of capacity for high wet weather flows and chronic infiltration, high effluent quality, operational flexibility and reliability, while providing best value for money.
Treatment of septage and landfill leachate was included in the biological design of the Mareeba WWTP. The existing septage receival facilities were upgraded and relocated to the new plant to provide improved safety and access for delivery and transfer of septage waste. A concrete clari-digester tank from the existing WWTP was retained and refurbished as a leachate balance tank. Leachate is now pumped via a rising main one kilometre from the Mareeba landfill into the balance tank at the WWTP before entering the inlet works. This provides greater control and more effective treatment of leachate entering the WWTP compared with the original arrangement whereby leachate entered the plant through the gravity sewer system. A return water line is also being installed to allow treated effluent to be recycled for fire-fighting and irrigation purposes at the Mareeba landfill site.
The Class B biosolids produced by the treatment process are suitable for use as an agricultural fertiliser and soil conditioner. Mareeba Shire Council has entered into a regional collective procurement arrangement with other Far North Queensland Councils for
20 July 2017 - Bioreactor being filled with water for wet commissioning.
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the removal and beneficial reuse of biosolids from wastewater treatment plants.
It was also hoped that the profile gained from a collective arrangement would lead to an increase in farms currently licensed for beneficial reuse. This has certainly been the case with another local cane farm recently approved to accept biosolids for agricultural use.
Trial TechnologyEarly in the design phase, Downer requested agreement from Mareeba Shire Council to trial additional "parallel nitrification de-nitrification" (PND) technology it had developed in collaboration with Murdoch University.
The PND process effectively short-cuts the chemical reaction for breaking down ammonia in the raw effluent, thus requiring less power and reducing operating costs. PND is also expected to provide a better quality treated effluent which translated into an improved environmental performance at the current plant capacity, and allowed for future plant capacity growth over and above its current design capacity for the same discharge licence conditions.
The trial involved modifying the flow direction and aeration cycling within the bioreactor to develop optimal conditions to drive the PND process. Cages of hanging
rope media were installed in the bioselector to provide a surface for growth of biomass. The media was installed in only one treatment train (i.e. on one side of the dual-basin SBR) to allow for comparison and measurement of effectiveness of the PND trial against control conditions. If the trial is successful, Council may elect to install the technology on the second train and overall benefits could double.
Social, Environmental and Economic BenefitsMr Hamill said the upgraded Mareeba WWTP was important infrastructure to support future economic growth in the region, estimated to be in the order of $2 Billion over a 20-year period.
24 July 2017 - Aerial photograph of the project site with Mareeba Industrial Park in the background.
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“As the gateway to Cape York and supply and service hub for mining, cattle, agricultural and tourist industries operating on the Tablelands, Gulf and Western Cape areas, the upgrade will cement Mareeba as a major regional activity centre and allow for further diversification of the Far North Queensland economy.”
Mareeba also provides critical waste management services to nearby Cairns Regional Council and Douglas Shire Council, which transport all their general waste to the Mareeba Landfill by road to prevent the risk of leachate entering and damaging the Great Barrier Reef.
“Degrading materials in landfills generate leachate, a highly toxic substance which must be captured and appropriately treated under landfill licensing requirements,” Mr Hamill said.
“The effective treatment of leachate is a critical function of the Mareeba WWTP which allows us to take the waste from our neighbours and treat it onsite.”
While the existing WWTP's digestion system was built to service a maximum population of 9,000 equivalent persons, by 2015 it was treating effluent of 10,000 equivalent persons including industrial trade waste and landfill leachate. This overload reduced the retention time of sewage in the plant and released poorly treated effluent into Two Mile Creek which is linked to the Upper Mitchell River System. The Mitchell River flows into the Gulf of Carpentaria and poor quality wastewater from Mareeba had a potential to affect primary production on some 14 large-scale grazing properties, particularly water usage for stock.
The existing WWTP also created an odour nuisance for surrounding
residents and industry. The upgraded Mareeba WWTP will result in significant benefits for water users downstream from the plant, will meet legislative guidelines for odour control and improve amenity for nearby residents and businesses.
Local JobsDowner implemented a Local Participation Plan to engage local contractors and businesses on the project where possible. Mareeba Shire residents comprised almost half of the construction man-hours on the project, injecting $8 million into the local economy through the use of local labour, subcontractors and materials. Downer also engaged a local graduate engineer for the project.
The Mareeba WWTP Upgrade represents a significant benefit to the community, delivering a low cost treatment plant that meets current requirements while providing the basis for easy upgrades to cater for future needs.
Mr Hamill attributed the successful delivery of the project to the good working relationship between Council's project team and the contractor, Downer Utilities.
“This was achieved through a robust tender process, clear documentation, ongoing communication, fair negotiation and the common goal to deliver an efficient, cost-effective wastewater treatment solution for the Mareeba community.”
Details of the 2017 Excellence Award winners is included in this issue on page 30. All nominees and winners will be celebrated in the Awards Commemorative Book to be released in early 2018. http://www.ipweaq.com/awards
24 July 2017 - Aerial photograph of the project site.
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qldwater this year established a charitable venture that seeks to help address urban water and sewerage challenges facing small and remote communities. The Queensland Water Regional Communities Innovations Program (QWRCIP), administered under the auspices of qldwater with a steering committee made up of members of its Technical Reference Group, aims to provide professional development opportunities to members with fewer than 10,000 connections.
QWRCIP was funded by corporate sponsors through the “vendor pitch” session at the qldwater Annual Forum in September, and successful candidates enjoyed a week long immersion in all things urban water related, including time spent with an SEQ utility to learn more about specific equipment or implementation of programs of interest. It also included access to WIOA training workshops, plant audits with Peter Mosse and attendance of all tours and presentations.
One of the scholarship winners, Central Highlands Regional Council Assistant Water Engineer Nathan Litzow, said the program and the opportunities it provided were very helpful for his growth in the water utilities team.
“It was an intense period of learning, networking and participation that will continue to offer benefits to both myself and in turn to council.”
For the first two days of the program, Nathan enjoyed the hospitality of the City of Gold Coast’s (CoGC) Water and Waste directorate where he spent time with the network reliability team learning about assets management challenges around budgeting, reproducing good work programs and improving poor ones.
“We also discussed the bigger event challenges like those related to withdrawing from Allconnex – the jointly-owned distribution and retail entity at a cost of more than $80 million and many other losses in terms of asset management and history,” Nathan said.
“Other topics included the effects of Ex TC Debbie and planning for the Commonwealth Games.”
Nathan visited a vacuum sewerage system in the north end of the Gold Coast, learning about new technology, maintenance issues and the rewards yielded from an increased network of vacuum monitoring sensors.
Nathan also spent time in the 24hr operations room, watching and
learning from the operators and their supervisor.
“Total network monitoring is not only vital for the Council to operate their assets and react to issues, but it is seems to be a source of pride for the team to showcase the big picture view.”
Nathan marvelled at the size and scale of the Water and Waste directorate, with product officers specialising in either wastewater, recycled water or drinking water as well as a conflicts officer that deals with internal and external projects that may affect or conflict with Council’s water and waste water infrastructure.
EMERGING LEADER PROFILE Nathan Litzow
EMERGING LEADER PROFILE
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The second part of Nathan’s was based in Brisbane with a technical tour, presentations, forum and group meeting over three days.
“It was very informative and rewarding to visit historic and current infrastructure hidden in plain view around the CBD and eastern suburbs.”
“There was a wide variety of topics presented at the Annual Forum but highlights to me were technologies and investments that can defer or reduce increased capacity capital costs and the panel sessions with the regulators (Department of Energy and Water Supply and Department of Environment and Heritage Protection.) These sessions gave insight into the how other perspectives impact on our regulatory journey and there were some current examples of how some utilities are working differently with the guidelines to achieve the same outcome.”
Nathan finished off his scholarship program attending a qldwater Technical Reference Group (TRG) meeting.
“The TRG allows the Queensland Water Directorate to filter member feedback from a diverse group and provides guidance on its direction and initiatives. The big picture guidance and industry shaping discussion was a motivating way to finish my program.”
“I will be recommending and encouraging others from this council and other qualifying councils to apply for a scholarship in the coming years. The time away from your day job can be very rewarding for those who participate and their employers.”
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Mark Lamont, Information Resources Manager
IPWEAQ is in the process of developing a Native Title (NT) and Cultural Heritage (CH) Compliance System portal.
The intention is to provide a tool that can be used to work through the complexities of implementing public works and undertaking other activities that can infringe on land where there is or may be a legitimate claim to Native Title. The legal phrase given to any and all activities that affect native title is that of the Future Act. The term applies, not only to physical activity that impacts upon land and water, but also laws and regulations made in regard to them such as tenure grants and the like. The importance of developing tools such as this was made abundantly clear by Oliver Gilkerson in the March 2017 issue of this journal. In that article he succinctly articulates the central argument when he writes:
The extent to which an infrastructure provider is able to ensure compliance, largely depends on their knowledge of the statutory requirements relating to future acts and the systems they have in place to meet the requirements.
The central purpose of the portal therefore is to provide that knowledge and offer such a system, giving clear guidance on the details of compliance to ensure that any future acts undertaken are valid future acts. If a future act proves to be invalid, that is, one which does not comply with the Native Title Act 1993, there can be substantial economic and cultural repercussions for the contractors and councils responsible. The goal is to offer an intuitive electronic solution to complying with NT and CH that will serve the needs of all stakeholders involved across the entire compliance process.
At the heart of the app will be the Native Title Assessment Form, the document that must be filled and filed with the Executive Manager Governance to gain a determination on whether or not a proposed future act is valid or invalid. The app will provide its users with a clear path through the complexities of the process and a step by step guide to compliance ensuring that all necessary steps are taken to allow the future act to proceed. There are five essential sections to the app that will be easily navigable from wherever the user is within it. Those sections are:
NATIVE TITLE ASSESSMENT CHECKLST
PATH THROUGH NATIVE TITLE
TOOLS FOR ASSESSING NATIVE TITLE EXTINGUISHMENT
TOOLS FOR NATIVE TITLE ASSESSMENT
TOOLS FOR IMPLEMENTING PROCEDUAL RIGHTS
The importance of any given sections will be determined by the nature of the proposed future act. By following straight-forward process maps and flowcharts, the user will be directed to the parts most relevant to their own concerns, eliminating the need to sift through and read a great deal of information which is of no relevance to the particular work under consideration. All applicants must fill out some basic information, for example the WHAT/WHERE/WHO/WHEN of the future act and the introductory section will take the user to, and through, those basic requirements and then from there, direct that person to the information they need to ensure the proposed future act in question is a valid one.
As well as these vital sections, the portal will also provide a comprehensive and detailed glossary so that any legal terms can be clarified at the push of a button, or swipe of a finger as the
Native Title and Cultural Heritage Compliance
System Portal KNOWLEDGE CENTRE
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case may be. It will also include other valuable resources such as a collection of maps showing state and national areas where Native Title has been established, where it has been extinguished; and where there are Claimant Applications in progress.
This portal is a development with enormous potential to eliminate what can appear on the surface to be an overwhelming complex set
of rules and regulations. IPWEAQ hopes to take the headache out of the process by doing the hard work and translating that into a comprehensive, but easy to follow tool which will give confidence to infrastructure suppliers and Native Title holders alike.
It has also been a busy few months in the Knowledge Centre with all the materials from the State Conference near completion. There
have also been a couple of other collections added from much smaller but no less informative conferences held at branch level. The Western Roads Symposium held in Longreach recently, and the Central Queensland Technical Forum held in late November are both worth a visit to the Knowledge Centre at http://www.ipweaq.com/knowledge-centre.
IPWEAQ Knowledge Centre
www.ipweaq.com
The new IPWEAQ Knowledge Centre is an essential resource for anyone involved in public works in Queensland.The Centre is fully searchable by title, speaker/author, subject, keyword, event or date. Resources available in the Knowledge Centre include:1. Podcasts of state and branch
conferences (accessible only to paid conference delegates or conference proceedings subscribers). The podcasts are accompanied by the presenters’ PowerPoint presentation
so you can follow the presentation while listening to the podcast.
2. Podcasts with accompanying video of all other IPWEAQ events
3. Papers submitted for state and branch conferences
4. Articles published in our quarterly e-journal, Engineering for Public Works
5. Articles of relevance to Queensland practitioners sourced by our Information Resources Manager from other states/territories and internationally.
6. IPWEAQ technical publications including Standard Drawings
(accessible only to subscribers) 7. Podcasts of interviews of delegates
taken at state and branch conferences
8. Photos of delegates taken at state and branch conferences
The Knowledge Centre is only accessible to IPWEAQ members. Conference podcasts/videos are only accessible to paid conference delegates. Technical publications are only accessible to subscribers of our technical products.
Join IPWEAQ today to access this vital resource for the public works sector in Queensland.
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A very full Dash-8 and countless four-wheel-drives descended on Longreach for the inaugural IPWEAQ Western Roads Symposium in September. Held in partnership with the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) and Longreach Regional Council, this highly successful event was attended by over 80 delegates from Goondiwindi in the south to Carpentaria in the north, the Burnett in the east to the central desert in the Northern Territory. Overall, there were 17 regional councils, seven consulting firms and 12 suppliers represented at the inaugural Western Roads Symposium.
The aim of the Symposium was to explore the use of locally available materials in the construction, maintenance and operations of our road assets specifically related to western and northern conditions. The use of non-standard materials and processes for the construction and maintenance of roads in regional and remote areas of Queensland present significant challenges to our sector. Over the years, practitioners have built up a sound base of knowledge and skills of what works best utilising locally sourced materials. However, in recent times this knowledge base has slowly eroded
through the natural attrition of our experienced workforce at a time when the demand on our network is growing.
This symposium provided delegates with the opportunity to learn from experienced technical experts and to network with others facing the same challenges. It was encouraging to hear a number of younger delegates discussing their positive experiences at the symposium. One delegate responded to our feedback for event highlights with, “hearing Rama (Jothi Ramanujam from TMR) speak on understanding pavement failures and rehabilitation techniques – we could have listened to him all day”.
Following the official opening, Graeme Wills from George Bourne and Associates delivered a detailed presentation on the selection and use of non-standard materials including: what is classified as non-standard material; how these materials can be modified and applied; and the challenges of working with non-standard material. Throughout Graeme’s presentation, the correlation to relevant standards and specifications and the Western Queensland Best Practice guidelines were emphasised.
Andrew Kennedy from TMR followed with a paper on ‘maximising outcomes with material testing’. Andrew
Western Roads Symposium Longreach,
6 - 7 September 2017 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
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provided valuable background information highlighting the fact that 50% of our construction costs are for the materials we purchase and TMR spend approximately $1.5 billion on materials alone. He also identified that in some areas, there are no economic sources of pavement materials that meet TMR specifications however low strength materials are available and will perform quite satisfactorily if handled correctly. He also noted that the more these materials are worked, the worse they perform and the testing procedures must
replicate construction processes.
Andrew emphasised the importance of control charts for demonstrating that the construction process is under control and consistent and in identifying trends that can be addressed before they become non-conformances. The presentation concluded with insightful observations regarding an undesirable element in the construction materials testing industry and the use of software systems that reverse calculate raw data to support a desired test result.
The session on project learnings began with Evan Woods from Maranoa Regional Council and Simon McIntosh from RoadTek who presented on the successful partnership between the two organisations in the completion of the Pickanjinnie North Road Upgrade Project. The project outcomes were positive due to the commitment by both parties to cross utilise project management services, civil labour and plant resources for the duration of the partnership. Significant project savings were also achieved through the proactive approach to investigate regional material options as a potential substitute for manufactured gravel.
The first day wound up with three informative presentations on rehabilitation. The first of these was titled. ‘Lime Stabilisation of Subgrade’ delivered by David Bell of Stabilised Pavements Australia. David explained the benefits and uses of lime stabilisation in western regions, supported by a quick chemistry refresher to differentiate between the properties of Hydrated Lime and Quicklime. Central to the discussion was the critical importance of performing adequate investigation of existing subgrade and host material and undertaking a lime demand test as a part of the mix design. David then went on to use a number of case studies to demonstrate the significant benefits of lime stabilisation including cost savings, minimising disruption and environmental advantages.
Jothi Ramanujam (Rama) from TMR concluded the day’s program with two insightful presentations on understanding the reasons for pavement failures and rehabilitation practices using
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foamed bitumen stabilisation. Rama stressed the importance of understanding the reasons for pavement failures as the first step towards minimising risk to good performance. Using pictorial examples, Rama highlighted a vast range of pavement failures and their likely causes. He also reviewed the various investigation methodologies available to workers.
Rama explained how foamed bitumen stabilisation is proven to be an effective pavement rehabilitation technique for unbound granular pavements in Queensland and how it has been used in a wide range of situations from local roads to the national highway network. Rama then treated us to another chemistry lesson on the process of foaming bitumen to achieve adequate dispersion throughout the material. The presentation looked at a number of case studies to express the benefits of foamed bitumen including: improving the stiffness and load bearing capacity of pavements; offering better resilience to flooding; providing longer working times during construction; and achieving better fatigue resistance than using a cement stabilised base.
Delegates gathered that night at the Cattleman’s Bar and Grill at the Stockman’s Hall of Fame enjoying the sunset with a few drinks and some of the local wildlife. The symposium dinner offered an opportunity to participate in an interactive question and answer session with Andre Moore, retired basketballer and founder of the Big Feat Basketball and Mentoring Program.
The final morning dealt with the subject of surfacing with Seal
Design, Latest Innovations in Modified Seals, and Best practice in Spray Seal Application. These topics were covered by a collaboration of speakers including Rama, Eric Denham, Jeffrey Stephan, Ross Guppy and Joe Pickering. They discussed the issues faced in western areas including: the quality of local gravels; weather conditions and especially high temperatures; low traffic volumes; and high-volume stock movements by road trains in a short period. A number of potential solutions were discussed with the pros and cons of each presented. Common to all of the options were strategies to limit the amount of embedment of the final seal.
This session also explored the benefits of crumb rubber modified seal binders and the latest innovation that removes operational and long-haul constraints that have previously limited its use in western areas. Joe Pickering of Fulton Hogan wound up the day by reinforcing the message from the previous speakers and encouraging all of the delegates to make use of the experience, knowledge and skills of the technical experts at the symposium.
One of the highlights of the
Western Roads Symposium was the positive atmosphere that carried on throughout the event. The common themes across all speakers were: investigate the root cause of the
issue investigate all available options understand the material you are
working with take advantage of the
knowledge and skills available across the network
build capability within your organisation.
A copy of the presentations are available to delegates of the Western Roads Symposium and IPWEAQ members through the IPWEAQ Knowledge Centre.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who contributed and participated in this very successful event. I look forward to seeing many of you at the Darling Downs Roads Symposium scheduled for Toowoomba, 29 to 31 May 2018.
Craig Moss Director, Professional & Career Development
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Introducing the new IPWEAQ Portfolios
Our inter-branch portfolios ensure more connectivity and sharing of ideas between our four regional branches (CQ, NQ, SEQ, SWQ). Branch committees are an extension of the board and play a pivotal role in progressing IPWEAQ's strategic direction.
Professional Development
Sandra Burke, TMR, NQ
Lorna Oliver, TMR, CQ
Casey Lee, Logan City Council, SEQ
Andrew Johnson, Somerset Regional Council, SWQ
Membership
Natasha Murray, Cairns Regional Council, NQ
Ashleigh Tomkins, Gladstone Regional Council, CQ
Craig Young, Sunshine Coast Council, SEQ
Ashlee Adams, Toowoomba Regional Council, SWQ
Knowledge Centre/Journal
Weena Lokuge, University of Southern Queensland, SEQ
Sophia Andary, Ipswich City Council, SEQ
Key Contacts
Glenda Kirk, Mareeba Shire Council, NQ
Murray Donald, Consultant, CQ Gleb Kolenbet, Redland City Council, SEQ
Andrew Johnson, Somerset Regional Council, SWQ
Michael Pattinson, Logan City Council, SEQ
Branch Events
Sandra Burke, TMR, NQ
Celisa Faulkner, Gladstone Regional Council
Gleb Kolenbet, Redland City Council, SEQ
Angela Fry, GHD, SWQ
Young IPWEAQ
Jessica Kahl, Aurecon (Chair), SEQ
Celisa Faulkner, Gladstone Regional Council, CQ
Hari Boppudi, Flinders Shire Council, NQ
Ashleigh Tomkins, Gladstone Regional Council, CQ
Sophia Andary, Ipswich City Council, SEQ
Ashlee Adams, Toowoomba Regional Council, SWQ
Excellence Awards
Danny Lynch, Townsville City Council, NQ
Ashleigh Tomkins, Gladstone Regional Council, CQ
Casey Lee, Logan City Council, SEQ
Angela Fry, GHD, SWQ
http://www.ipweaq.com/portfolios
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C Q B r a n c h P r e s i d e n t ’ s R e p o r t
I have been welcomed as the new Branch President for the CQ Branch and I have certainly hit the ground running. The IPWEAQ state conference in Townsville was a great success with many presentations that made you question, ponder and rethink your ways. I entered my first IPWEAQ Board meeting the day after the conference with nerves and caution however I was impressed and appreciative of the collaboration that existed with some great outcomes and actions achieved. There is certainly new energy and drive on the Board and I am excited to be a part of it.A special thanks to Craig Murrell, the outgoing CQ Branch President. It will be great though to still work with Craig on the Board since he stepped in as our new Vice President. Thanks also to outgoing committee members: Michael Prior, Paul Keech and Stephen Mow - your contribution has been much appreciated. The previous committee worked hard for our branch and created opportunities for all our members to network, share and learn. Thank you. I am pleased to be working alongside our new committee members: Murray Donald, Phil McKone, Lorna Oliver and Ashleigh Tomkins and look forward to the next two years building on the work of the previous committee under Craig’s direction.
The committee has already
shown their brilliant colours with a successful CQ Technical Forum held in Rockhampton held 24 November 2017 at Hasting Deering, our long-time supporter of the Forum. It was pleasing to see a number of young and/or first time presenters. A highlight this year was a presentation on the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act by Alex Power of McCullough Robertson which clearly deciphered the true impact of the incoming Act. I recommend anyone in the building construction industry take a moment to read this presentation in the IPWEAQ Knowledge Centre. We also enjoyed presentations featuring some impressive engineering projects including the Panorama Drive Project (Yeppoon), Quay Street Upgrade (Rockhampton) and Nine Mile Culvert Floodway (Rockhampton). Jessica Kahl opened our minds to the world of digitisation and the direction local government needs to face. Watching the transformation unfold will be exciting.There was a lot of interest at the Forum regarding the RPEQ process and assessment through IPWEAQ. Ross Guppy gave, IPWEAQ’s Director, Technical Products delivered an excellent presentation which generated a lot of positive feedback from those who had successfully achieved RPEQ through this path.
The release of the fourth edition (2016) of QUDM was also a hot topic throughout the day and I am happy to report that IPWEAQ has scheduled a number of QUDM Workshops in CQ early next year including: Rockhampton – 1 May Gladstone – 2 May Bundaberg – 23 May
I would like to thank the delegates who attended the 2017 CQ Technical Forum and especially for the $380 raised for the President’s Charity, MS Queensland. The CQ Branch is registering a team (or teams for a healthy competition) for the MS Swimathon in Rockhampton on Saturday 17 March 2018. We welcome all abilities including walking and dog paddling. IPWEAQ team polo shirts and caps will be supplied. Please register online.
Plans are now well underway for the CQ Branch Conference to be held in Barcaldine, 14-16 June 2018. Barcaldine has turned it on for us in the past and we expect 2018 to be no different. We are very proud to be working with our conference hosts, George Bourne and Associates.
I wish you a great Christmas with friends and family, and look forward to a wonderful year ahead. Stay safe.
Celisa Faulkner CQ Branch President
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Our members enjoy a
strong sense of community through our proactive branch network. CENTRAL QUEENSLAND BRANCH
CQ Branch conference | Barcaldine | 14-16 June 2018https://ipweaq.eventsair.com/ipweaq-cq-branch-conference-2018/event-websiteCQ BRANCH COMMITTEE
Celisa Faulkner (CQ Branch President and Key Contacts) Engineer – Networks, Gladstone Regional Council [email protected]
Murray Donald (Vice President & Key Contacts) Civil Engineering Advisor
Lorna Oliver (Professional Development) Principal Planner, TMR
Ashleigh Tomkins (YIPWEAQ, Membership & Excellence Awards) Senior Engineer, Asset Management, Gladstone Regional Council
Topics of interest include:• Project learnings (including all sized
projects even if they did not quite go to plan)
• Communication and Stakeholder engagement
• Unique solutions to common problems
• Innovative technologies and practices
• Asset management
• Governance
Submit online
Expressions of interest to presentWe are currently seeking expressions of interest to present at the CQ Branch Conference, Barcaldine, 14-16 June 2018.
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Another successful IPWEAQ state conference, held in the north this year is now behind us which foreshadows the winding up of another year that passed by all too quickly. Aside from the state conference (and 12.5 CPD hours), IPWEAQ delivered a number of other professional development programs for the NQ Branch this year including: Managing Risks on Lower Order
Roads, Cairns, September 2017 Managing Risks on Lower Order
Roads, Townsville, September 2017
AAPA Pavement Spray, Cloncurry, September 2017
Supervisor’s Workshop, Cloncurry, February 2017
If you were unable to attend the state conference, the podcasts of all 44 presentations plus papers and (PowerPoint) presentations are available in the IPWEAQ Knowledge Centre. The cost for members to subscribe to the podcasts is $600 plus GST and $900 plus GST for non-members. Delegates are able to access these as part of their conference registration.With 2018 just around the corner, planning is underway for the NQ Branch conference in Cairns, 18-20 April. We are looking for papers on projects that might not have gone so well and invite you to share your lessons learned with
others. Please contact Craig Moss, Director, Professional & Career Development if you would like to present. We would also like to encourage the younger members of your team to take the first step in writing a paper and presenting at a branch conference. Up to 45 CPD hours are available.Two students from JCU presented at the inaugural IPWEAQ Futures Challenge held at the state conference: Michael Sarrun presented on his thesis, ‘optimal design of multi-purpose reservoir system to meet water demands in Townsville’ and Daniel Marais presented on behalf of his team member, Janelle Ogg on the ‘influence of compressibility on soil susceptibility to contact erosion’. You can read about their experiences attending the IPWEAQ state conference in this issue of Engineering for Public Works. There are a number of PD programs planned for delivery in the north in 2018 including: QUDM, Townsville - 6 March
2018 QUDM, Cairns - 7 March 2018 RSA, Townsville – 20 March 2018 RSA Refresher, Townsville – 22
March 2018 Managing Risks on Lower Order
Roads, Cloncurry, April 2018Other courses to be scheduled include Bridge Inspections Level 1 & 2, Grants and Funding, Understanding Extended Design Domain (EDD) applications,
Supervisor Workshops, and Introduction to Asset Management, all in the first half of 2018. New programs for grader operators and timber bridge maintenance are also now in development.
The new and improved IPWEAQ PD program under the direction of Craig Moss is a ‘needs-based’ program so please be sure to contact Craig to discuss whatever issues you are facing in your council.Seren McKenzie has chosen MS Queensland for the President’s Charity. There are a number of fund-raising activities available including a swimathon to be held in Cairns on Friday 20 April. If you are interested in participating, please complete the form on the website. IPWEAQ team polo shirts and caps will be provided for all participants. Non-members welcome.The IPWEAQ 2018 Conference Grand Slam gets underway in March with the SWQ Branch conference to be held in Goondiwindi. This is followed by the NQ Branch conference in Cairns, the CQ Branch conference in Barcaldine with the state conference to be held in the SEQ Branch on the Gold Coast.Best wishes to you and your family for Christmas and the year ahead.
Bruce GardinerNQ Branch President
N Q B r a n c h P r e s i d e n t ’ s R e p o r t
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Our members enjoy a
strong sense of community through our proactive branch network. NORTH QUEENSLAND BRANCH
NQ Branch conference | Cairns, 18-20 April 2018https://ipweaq.eventsair.com/ipweaq-nq-branch-conference-2018/event-websiteNQ BRANCH COMMITTEE
Bruce Gardiner (NQ Branch President) General Manager Infrastructure Services, Cairns Regional Council [email protected]
Glenda Kirk (Vice-President & Key Contacts) Contracts and Project Management Officer, Mareeba Shire Council
Natasha Murray (NAMS-Q & Membership) Senior Transport Engineer, Cairns Regional Council
Sandra Burke (Professional Development & Branch Events) District Director (Far North) Program Delivery & Operations, TMR
Hari Boppudi (YIPWEQ) Director of Engineering, Flinders Shire Council
Danny Lynch General Manager Infrastructure Planning, Assets & Fleet, Townsville City Council
Neil Allen Director Infrastructure Services, Townsville City Council
Bill Cuthbertson Director, WTC Consulting
Topics of interest include:• Project learnings• Innovative technologies and practices• Asset management• Governance
Submit online
Call for papersWe are currently seeking submissions for papers to be presented at the NQ Branch Conference, Cairns, 18-20 April 2018.
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S E Q B r a n c h P r e s i d e n t ’ s R e p o r t
Christmas is just around the corner and as we exchange and express our best wishes to our family, friends, work colleagues, our mates in the industry and every person on earth, we will be telling stories about 2017 and just like all past years it went very fast.
We have had a number of successful events in 2017 but the best one for me was the IPWEAQ state conference at Townsville. The conference was great in all aspects including technical content with a very rich program, and a well organised event. With a variety of papers and streams to choose from and a high number of delegates, sponsors and exhibitors, there were ample opportunities for learning, networking, and catching up with friends and mates.
As the SEQ Branch President, I was pleased to see one of councils, the City of the Gold Coast take centre stage at the 2017 IPWEAQ excellence awards
gala ceremony winning multiple awards. The winning projects showcased innovation and value for money. I encourage all councils in the SEQ corner to follow suit and participate in the 2018 IPWEAQ excellence awards with nominations opening early in 2018 which, given how fast this year has passed, will be with us all too soon.
While congratulating Alton Twine, Director City Infrastructure on their successes, we discussed an opportunity for members in the SEQ Branch to attend a technical tour to the award-winning Sarawak project early in 2018. It is obviously a busy time for the City of the Gold as they work day and night preparing their amazing city for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
The City of Gold Coast are also our hosts for the 2018 IPWEAQ state conference to be held at The Marriott, Surfers Paradise, 10-12 October 2018. Anyone who has attended our recent IPWEAQ state conferences will assure you that
this a premier event not to be missed. And we’ll be celebrating the success of the Commonwealth Games with our colleagues.
Just like the rest of you, I am extremely busy at work at this time of the year, with long hours required just to keep things moving as we try to reduce the impact of the holidays on capital works delivery. In fact, the entire year has been much the same with key vacancies from two of my direct reports impacting on my team.
Our new SEQ Branch committee will get together before Christmas to draft the plan for 2018 which will include technical, social and networking events.
On behalf of the SEQ Branch committee and members, I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a safe, peaceful and prosperous New Year.
Raad JarjeesSEQ Branch President
Our members enjoy a
strong sense of community through our proactive branch network. SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND BRANCH
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Our members enjoy a
strong sense of community through our proactive branch network. SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND BRANCH
SEQ Branch Technical Series – 2017-2018Alex Fraser Facility Tour | 22 February 2018 commencing 12:00 midday | Nudgee BeachSEQ BRANCH COMMITTEE
Raad Jarjees Branch President Program and Technical Services Manager, Infrastructure Services Department, Ipswich City Council [email protected]
Gleb Kolenbet (Vice President, Key Contacts, Branch Events) Land Development Engineer, Redland City Council
Craig Young (NAMS-Q, Membership) Manager Civil Asset Management, Sunshine Coast Council
Jessica Kahl (YIPWEAQ) YIPWEAQ Chair Civil Engineer, Aurecon
Sophia Andary (YIPWEAQ, Knowledge Centre & Journal) Civil Designer, Infrastructure Services Department, Ipswich City Council
Weena Lokuge (Knowledge Centre & Journal) Senior Lecturer University of Southern Queensland
Casey Lee (Excellence Awards & Professional Development) Senior Civil Engineering Design Supervisor, Logan City Council
Michael Pattinson Road Construction Program Leader, Logan City Council
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S W q b r a n c h p r e s i d e n t ’ s R e p o r t
As the new SWQ Branch President, I attended my first IPWEAQ board meeting in Townsville which followed on from the successful 2017 IPWEAQ state conference. I did wonder how we would fill an entire day discussing IPWEAQ matters and was relieved and very pleased to find the day extremely interesting and informative. I am excited by the great opportunities before us and the direction we’re heading. My predecessor in the SWQ Branch, Stephen Hegedus did a great job over the past two years to establish and maintain our position and I’d like to thank Steve for his hard work and commitment to the role. Moving forward, I am pleased to be working with the small but efficient and dedicated committee of Dereck Sanderson, Andrew Johnson and Ashlee Adams. The first priority for the committee is assisting with the SWQ Branch conference to be held in Goondiwindi, 15-16 March 2018. A specific Call for Papers has been issued which requests submissions for projects that haven’t gone so well. There are valuable learnings in these projects for all of us just as much as there are in the successful projects we tend to focus on. Presenting a paper at the conference is a great way to connect and network with colleagues in our sector. There are of course valuable CPD hours available for preparing
and presenting a paper (up to 45 hours) along with nine other reasons to present an IPWEAQ branch or state conference. I encourage you to be brave and prepare an abstract for submission, which is also a great way to develop your skills at writing concisely with just 500 words to sum up your project. Otherwise, please encourage a colleague and especially our younger members! I would also like to congratulate our SWQ member, Mike Holeszko for winning the 2017 Geoff Wilmoth Best Paper Award for his presentation at the state conference last month. Mike’s paper titled, ‘Southern Downs to B Double or not to B Double’ considered how a council can ensure an aged road network can meet current and future needs. Mike will now present his paper at the IPWEA NZ conference in Rotorua in June 2018 as part of our exchange program with our colleagues across the Tasman.Another highlight at the state conference was the 2017 excellence award and the announcement of Mike Brady as our Engineer of the Year. I had the pleasure of working with Mike for a number of years at Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC) and was personally thrilled to see Mike on stage collecting his award. But wait, there’s more! Aaron Meehan, General Manager – Infrastructure, South Burnett Regional Council took out the
Young Engineer of the Year award. And congratulations to Aaron on his new position!Works Supervisor of the Year was Jeff Heit, also from TRC. While Jeff has extensive experience in construction and 33 years with TRC, with the requisite technical skills, it is his strong people skills that set him apart from his peers.Of the five people awards at the 2017 excellence awards, the SWQ Branch took out four awards including the President’s Award presented to Frank Scheele, South Burnett Regional Council for his contribution to the updated Queensland Urban Drainage Manual.Thank you to all of the above members for inspiring us. We look forward to hearing from you at the Goondiwindi conference in March.Another new SWQ Branch member presented at the inaugural 2017 Futures Challenge at the conference. Denver Pollock representing USQ delivered a poster board and presentation to delegates on residual chlorine improvement in Woodhill water supply zone. Thank you for the opportunity to represent our branch. Please don’t hesitate to call me if you have anything you’d like to chat about. I look forward to seeing you on the dance floor in Goondiwindi in March! Angela Fry SWQ Branch President
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Our members enjoy a
strong sense of community through our proactive branch network. SOUTH WEST QUEENSLAND BRANCH
SWQ Branch conference | Goondiwindi, 15-16 March 2018https://ipweaq.eventsair.com/ipweaq-swq-branch-conference-2018/event-websiteSWQ BRANCH COMMITTEE
Angela Fry (SWQ Branch President, Excellence Awards & Branch Events) Manager – Toowoomba & South West Region, GHD [email protected]
Ashlee Adams (YIPWEAQ & Membership) Principal Project Manager, Toowoomba Regional Council
Andrew Johnson (Professional Development & Key Contacts) Works Manager Somerset Regional Council
Dereck Sanderson District Director (Darling Downs), TMR
Topics of interest include:
• Project learnings
• Innovative technologies and practices
• Asset management
• Governance
Submit online
Call for papersWe are currently seeking submissions for papers to be presented at the SWQ Branch Conference, Goondiwindi, 15-16 March 2018.
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There's a saying by Robert Kiyosaki that, "The richest people in the world look for and build networks; everyone else looks for work."
For many of us engineers, the art of networking is sometimes lost under growing priorities and the stereotype of introversion. Being connected to our teams, clients and community is a defining phenomenon of the present times. The number of social network users worldwide climbed to 2.46 billion this year, showing that we have never been more connected and reliant on knowledge sharing. With 378 event attendees at the IPWEAQ State Conference in Townsville and 64 at the CQ Technical Forum last month, it is clear that engineers are looking to meet, mingle, share new ideas and gain new insights to make their businesses more effective and efficient.
The 2017 IPWEAQ state conference in Townsville started traditionally with three Tech Tours: the Riverway Drive Duplication project, the Port of Townsville and the Humes production facility.
Delegates were then blown out of this world by the keynote presentation on the first day by astrophysicist and Swinburne Associate Professor, Alan Duffy who challenged us with the question, ‘How do you look for something you've never seen?’ And the answer is, by exploring opportunities associated with dark matter, dark energy, galaxy formation and cosmology. If you missed the state conference this year, you can still listen to the podcasts of Alan and other presentations in the IPWEAQ Knowledge Centre.
The inspirational content of the conference program continued throughout the two days with presentations from Southern Downs Regional Council Maintenance Engineering Coordinator, Mike Holeszko (who won the Best Paper award despite technical difficulties) and TMR Director, Sandra Burke. Without listing the entire conference program, I would like to thank all presenters for sharing their stories from local projects, projects which have made a huge positive impact on our communities and for being a catalyst of different perspective for local councils.
Support for YIPWEAQ and our future leaders was evident in the IPWEAQ Futures Challenge, a new initiative aimed at graduating engineers with completed thesis
projects. The presentations in the Futures Challenge delivered high calibre content from students from JCU, QUT and USQ. Each of the four presentations demonstrated commitment to improving engineering practices and advancing community wellbeing. Congratulations to the winner, Matthew Tiller from QUT for his presentation on the ‘Optimization of Coil Pump Technology for use in Developing Countries of the South Pacific’. A great idea from an up-coming engineer with a bucketful of ambition.
The excellence awards was another great night for our community. Congratulations to all our inspiring Queensland projects and nominees. Special mention to the Woman in Engineering winner, Glenda Kirk from Mareeba Shire Council who gave the best speech of the night, “Let the women work!”
Y o u n g I P W E A Q C h a i r R e p o r t
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Knowledge sharing continued in November at the CQ Tech Forum at Hastings Deering in Rockhampton. Projects featured included the Nine Mile Road Floodway, Panorama Drive, Rockhampton Quay Street Upgrade and many more. We hope you gained insight from the local projects creating a positive impact on our communities. Delegates at the Tech Forum also raised just under $400 for the President’s Charity, MS Queensland. Support for making fighters survivors will continue in 2018 with IPWEAQ team opportunities including swimathons in Cairns and Rockhampton and the SE corner. Non-members are also invited to participate and all participants will receive the IPWEAQ team navy polo shirt and cap. A little competition between the three participating branches – NQ, CQ and SEQ as to which can raise the most funds is likely to be on the cards!
Do you know what reverse mentoring is? Millennials think you should.
The 2016 Deloitte Millennial Survey reveals that 63% of millennials report their leadership skills to not be fully developed. With an invested interest in ensuring we connect leaders from all levels of council, we are looking to introduce the idea of a ‘buddy program’ for conferences in 2018. Linking our younger members to experienced members in a reverse-mentoring relationship is known to assist both parties and promote cross-generational leadership. It is also well known that Australian women have comparably lower labour force participation rates compared to other OECD countries with Australia’s maternal employment rate remaining below the OECD average of 65.2%. IPWEAQ is interested in offering CPD opportunities to men and women during parental leave and as they return to work while raising their new family. This aims to support the cultural shift required to foster greater work-life balances for families and retain the talent of both men and women in our teams.
Help us help you by sharing your story about the challenges of parental leave and balancing work and family. Please complete the form on the IPWEAQ website.
The key to unlocking the power of innovation is found in a
solution which encourages 100% of our population to be exposed to opportunities in business, communities and society. Collectively, we need young women to reach for opportunities in STEM. I look forward to working with IPWEAQ to develop a high school starter pack to engage students in public work engineering projects within their local area. The idea aims to drive greater awareness of the career, opportunities in the public works sector and engagement of the younger generation in the community.
IPWEAQ is a passionate and engaging organisation invested in promoting cross-sector knowledge, capacity to add value at range of levels from corporate strategy to design and construction, and developing digital capital and collaborative outcomes. IPWEAQ is also passionate about the role our younger members must play to forge a sustainable future direction for the Institute. These themes will continue into the new year.
Having been in the role of Young IPWEAQ Chair for just over a month, I’m excited to work with Leigh and the team to implement these exciting new initiatives.
Jessica Kahl YIPWEAQ Chair
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Vale Col Dziewicki
By Kev Bickhoff
The ManCol Dziewicki was held in high regard. His worth was his trust; relied upon by others when difficult decisions had to be made.
His careerCol’s career was devoted entirely to local government and uniquely, to just one local council - Emerald Shire Council and the amalgamated Central Highlands Regional Council. He started in 1973 as a cadet overseer - the ‘gate opener’ for the then Overseer, Jim Dendle and continued until 2011.
Col assumed the role of Overseer when Jim retired and proceeded then to lead Emerald Shire Council’s workforce for the rest of his career.
As the structure of local government changed, he became
more involved in the management of the construction workforce until it became a separate function within Council. This was his world and he was extremely proud of his people and their achievements.
His passionsHe loved to challenge a person’s ability, give them opportunities to test their abilities and prove they had what it takes. He allowed for mistakes because without them, there was no worthwhile learning experience. Second mistakes however were not so easily accepted!
Col understood those who worked for him and made provision for them to resolve personal issues that arose in their lives. His quiet and unassuming compassion was often the difference between despair and survival. This consideration was returned whenever a crucial incident occurred outside working hours with teams of people arriving at the depot ready to take action.
His achievementsTake a look around Emerald and surrounding districts and you will see many examples of Col’s endeavours. His image of Emerald in 1973 would have been of dusty unsealed streets (with very little kerb and channel), the showgrounds and the Nogoa River.
His first big jobs were the BHP subdivisions and then the Irrigation Area roads.
Multiple unemployment schemes delivered kerb and channelling and footpaths to the older part of town. If you thought he wasn’t a patient man, think of the frustrations these schemes presented to him yet despite these difficulties, he delivered the schemes as intended with gusto.
Today Emerald has an excellent street system – sealed pavements, kerb & channel drainage and street plantings to soften the harshness of the climate and Col had the pleasure of seeing the results of his efforts and those of his team.
Hospital Road saw the introduction of cement stabilised pavements, underground electricity reticulation and street lights, and close tolerances of the finished work. These challenges were seen as opportunities to develop new skill sets within the workforce.
Large watermains along Hospital Road were Col’s personal challenge. He directed the boring of the holes for the overhead lighting. By the third effort he thought he knew exactly where the mains were but not so as he found yet another one. This left him with two options: water fountains or overhead lighting. By his nature though, there was no panic; just resolve the situation and finish the job with overhead lighting.
The airport and the redevelopment of the terminal are a lasting testimony to his forethought
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Building communities from the ground up
Fulton Hogan is a major Australasian resource based civil contracting company, providing a broad range of products and services to customers in the roads, civil construction, infrastructure and maintenance sectors.
Committed to providing innovative, cost-effective solutions for customers and the community, Fulton Hogan is recognised as a leader in the field of technical innovation.
Our research and development keeps us at the forefront of construction excellence.
and vision. From where he sat in those early years he could see the growth of Emerald and the need to provide, expand and then upgrade the terminal to meet future needs.
He cemented his relationship with the airport during the initial asphalt overlay. A continuous 24-hour operation with Col on the midnight shift to supervise progress and he thoroughly enjoyed being at the coalface.
Col had an enduring connection with the airport from the days of
wildlife on the runway and limited air services to a fully secured runway and jet services.
His communityWhenever there was a sausage sizzle, Col would be at the BBQ, thoroughly enjoying literally serving his community. His involvement in the Sunrise Rotary offered ample opportunities to do so and he every one of them.
The development of Sunrise Park with the BMX track and Sunrise Rotary clubhouse are his legacy.
Our Family FriendOver 37 years, Col has been a work colleague, a neighbour and always a close friend. My ‘kids’ know him as Uncle Col and he enjoyed the role. Birthdays and weddings were special occasions.
His passing leaves a huge gap in lives and we can only hope our memories will ease the grief.
We will miss his presence.
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Public Works Technical Subscription
Full access to Standard Drawings which can be shared with constituents (value $800 per individual user)
Your employees will receive a 10% discount on their annual IPWEAQ membership subscription (value $30 per employee)
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Free job advertisements in ‘Connect’ our fortnightly e-news service
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Engineering for Public Works
MEDIA KIT 2018
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Our Value Propositions1 Members enjoy a strong sense of community
through our proactive branch network.2 Our Knowledge Centre is an essential resource for
anyone involved in public works in Queensland.3 Our quarterly e-journal is valued for its technical
and industry relevant content.4 IPWEAQ technical products are widely-adopted
and are leading edge.5 IPWEAQ conferences are must-attend events.
ENGINEERING FOR PUBLIC WORKS
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B R A N C H N E W S
F E AT U R E A R T I C L E
wet wipe havocSydney Water’s wet wipes woes cost millions p.18
T E C H N I C A L F O C U S
Noosa 2016SWQ and SEQ Branch Conference 28-29 April p.20
Q L D W AT E R
ISSUE No.1
toowoomba ring rdToowoomba’s award winning project p.10
complete streetsComplete Streets up for review p.40
ENGINEERING FOR PUBLIC WORKS
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PREPARING COMMUNITIESFOR EXTREME STORM SURGEInternational best practice and lessons for Queensland. p.56
CELEBRATING WOMEN IN PUBLIC WORKSInspirational women paving the way for the next generation p.29
t e c h n i c a l f o c u s
GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY AND INNOVATIONFindings from Andrew Ryan’s International Study Tour. p.8
PARTNERING DELIVERS SUCCESSPickanjinnie North Road Upgrade Project. p.22
E x c e l l e n c e A w a r d
S p e c i a l F e at u r e
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lucinda 2016NQ Branch Conference hosted by Hinchinbrook p.48
Q L D W AT E R
ISSUE No.2
Hon jackie trad mpOn delivering the State Infrastructure Plan p.10
for supervisorsCheck out our updated Supervisor’s Handbook p.42
ENGINEERING FOR PUBLIC WORKS
www.ipweaq.comISSUE No.6
CURING A CANCER PATIENTThe remediation of Munna Point Bridge. p.26
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENTEquipping public works professionals for the future. p.34
t e c h n i c a l f o c u s
LEADING THE WASTE REVOLUTIONSunshine Coast’s innovative underground waste collection system. p.12
CREATING THE THIRD PLACEToowoomba’s City Library and Civic Square delivers for the community. p.8
E x c e l l e n c e A w a r d S p e c i a l F e at u r e F E AT U R E A R T I C L E
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B R A N C H N E W S
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wasp warsThe ultimate benchmarking challenge p.18
a c a d e m i c F O C U S
vale fairweatherA warm tribute to IPWEAQ founding member p.10
Q L D W AT E R
ISSUE No.3
future demandInfrastructure Australia CEO Phil Davies sets course p.12
students on high rdHow effective is Icarus? Danielle Lester explains p.66
IPWEAQ is the peak body representing those working in the public works sector in Queensland.Our purpose is to enhance the quality of life for all Queensland communities by advancing the skills, knowledge and resources available to those involved in the planning and provision of public works and services.
6 IPWEAQ’s comprehensive professional development program is innovative and exceeds the needs of members and industry.
7 Our water directorate (qldwater) strengths the urban water industry to maintain and improve the safety, health, wellbeing and sustainability of Queensland communities.
8 An IPWEAQ excellence award is highly sought after.9 IPWEAQ upholds professional standards as an RPEQ assessor.10 IPWEAQ influences government and industry.
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