St Helena Pipeline
Heritage Management

Client: NSW Public Works Advisory, on behalf of Rous County Council
Industry sector: Infrastructure
Services: Aboriginal Objects Due Diligence Assessment
Location: Dorroughby to Ridgewood Road, Lismore Region, NSW

About this Project

The project

The principal objective of this project is to ensure residents have access to a reliable water supply that meets current Australian Drinking Water Quality Guidelines. Rous County Council provides water in bulk to the local government areas of Lismore, Byron, Ballina and Richmond Valley, serving a population of approximately 100,000 people.

Rous County Council is augmenting the water supply to the Byron Bay and Ballina areas. Part of this augmentation will be the upgrade of the existing 300 mm trunk main from Dorroughby to the St Helena Reservoir, Byron Bay. The existing pipeline is reaching the end of its design life and as such it is more economical to replace than repair the pipeline. Considering the future demands in the Ballina to Byron area, Rous County Council intends to replace the 300 mm pipeline with a 600 mm pipeline.

Our role in the project

Niche was commissioned by NSW Public Works Advisory on behalf of Rous County Council (the Proponent) to undertake an Aboriginal Objects Due Diligence Assessment to assess the proposed pipeline project. This included a two day site survey, covering 100% of the Subject Area with participation of the Ngulingah LALC. The report was also provided to the LALC for comment prior to finalisation.

Challenges

The aims of the assessment were to: assess whether Aboriginal objects and/or places are present, or are likely to occur, within, or in close proximity to, the Subject Area; if those Aboriginal objects and/or places may be harmed by the proposed works; and if further investigation was required. Challenges encountered included a short time-frame and complicated mapping requirements.

The advantages we delivered to this project

  • Efficient delivery of a comprehensive assessment incorporating input from the Ngulingah LALC.
  • Consultation with the client to re-route parts of the project infrastructure to avoid potentially sensitive landscape features.
  • Completion of the site survey in less time than anticipated, resulting in reduced costs for our client.

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