THE first access agreements for the construction of the $14 million Scone to Murrurundi water pipeline have been signed.
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In order to build the 40km pipeline that will end Murrurundi’s water woes, Upper Hunter Shire Council has asked dozens of landowners along the route for permission to access their properties and put the infrastructure in place.
Among the first to sign up were Andrew and Amanda Gillett, owners of “Brandon”, located about half way along the pipeline route.
It wasn’t a difficult decision for the couple.
“We’ve always known about Murrurundi’s problems with the algae,” Mr Gillett said.
“I wasn’t going to stop the pipeline. If (Murrurundi) need it they should have it.”
A few kilometres further south at Cressfield Stud, an access agreement has also been signed by general manager Wayne Bedggood on behalf of the stud’s owner.
“We had some conditions, and they were included in the access agreement,” Mr Bedggood said.
“They included inductions for any workers that were coming on the property to meet our own WHS procedures.”
Wearing his other hat, as an Upper Hunter Shire councillor, Cr Bedggood said the pipeline was a major engineering project that could only be achieved with goodwill from landowners.
The proposed pipeline route was chosen by council staff and consultants with the aims of minimising the impact on the environment, allowing for cost effective construction and staying as close as possible to existing boundary fences.
The pipeline’s concept design was created by NSW Public Works.
There may be changes to the route as a result of further assessments including geo-technical investigations and the Review of Environmental Factors, which will be completed later this year.
The proposed pipeline corridor is mostly adjacent to the western side of the New England Highway.
Construction is expected to commence in 2017 and be completed in 2020, providing a much-needed secure water supply for Murrurundi.
The project is being provided with $11.5 million in funding from the NSW Government through the Restart NSW Water Security for Regions program, $1.5 million from the NSW Government Country Towns Water Supply and Sewage Program and $1 million from Upper Hunter Shire Council through borrowed funds.
