Yass Water Treatment Plant Upgrade

The Yass Water Treatment Plant Upgrade Project is a challenging and a very high priority project for Council. 

The project to prepare a Design and Business Case for the upgrade of the Yass Water Treatment Plant commenced in November 2019. The Housing Acceleration Fund (HAF) funded this project at a cost of $1.2M with a total commitment of $10M for the WTP Upgrade. During the course of this project, stakeholders required that Stage 1 - Early Works be carried-out in advance in December 2020. Stage 1 Works, required by the stakeholders, included installation of a bubble plume aeration system at the Yass Dam, upgrade of the Raw Water Pump Station (RWPS), and urgent works at Yass Water Treatment Plant. Stage 1 Works were completed at a cost of $2.2M funded by HAF at the end of February 2023.

Final Business Case:

The Final Business Case was endorsed by the Council at its extraordinary Council Meeting on 9 May 2024.   

Yass WTP Upgrade Final Business Case 20240502(PDF, 3MB)

Appendix A Raw Water Quality(PDF, 2MB)

Appendix I Customer Survey(PDF, 514KB)

Appendix K Project Program(PDF, 171KB)

Appendix L Yass WTP Upgrade Benefits Realisation Plan(PDF, 563KB)

Appendix M Risk Register FBC(PDF, 116KB)

Appendix O Community Engagement Strategy(PDF, 871KB)

Funding

• HIF Grant Fund $6.6M: Announced in the NSW State Budget FY24-25 following the approval of the Final Business Case by Department of Planning and Housing Infrastructure (DPHI) /Treasury. Funding Deed was signed Council in August 2024.
• NSW Ad-hoc Election Commitment Fund $13.55M: With the approval of Final Business Case, $13.55M funding from Ad-hoc Election Fund commitment by the NSW Government is also expected to be released. Ad-hoc election funding will cover the Yass WTP Upgrade ($10.5M) and for the Yass water reticulation upgrade ($3.05M). Council is working with DCCEEW Water/INSW to enter into a funding deed. The allocation of funds between WTP Upgrade and water reticulation upgrade is subject to change.
• NSW Health Fluoridation Grant $0.97M: NSW Health provided a commitment to upgrade the existing fluoridation unit. The upgrade was paused to take place with the overall upgrade of the Yass WTP. Council has written to NSW Health to reconfirm this grant.

Financial Analysis showed that without further grants Council will be required to raise the typical water rates over three years by up to $300 to finance the funding shortfall through loans. Council will continue to seek further grants especially National Water Grid Fund round of June 2024 to lessen the impact on water supply customers.

National Water Grid Fund Application: YVC’s application to the National Water Grid Fund (NWGF) was shortlisted by the NSW Government for the June 2024 round. The State government (DCCEEW) has submitted this application with the recommendation of NSW Minister for Water to the Australian Government for assessment and funding consideration. The outcome of the NWGF funding application is expected by October 2024. Link to NWGF application process is here.

Implementation

Activities identified in the Final Business Case will commence as soon as the Funding Deed with Ad-hoc Election Commitment is executed.

Following are major project milestones and key dates, which are subject to change: 

a) Funding Deed Executed	Aug 2024
b) Engage Owner's Engineer	Sep/Oct 2024
c) Reference Design and Section 60 Approvals	June 2025
d) Tendering and Contract Award	Jan 2026
e) Construction Commencement	Feb 2026
f) Commissioning of Main WTP	July 2027
g) Completion of Construction	Jan 2028
h) Project Completion	Feb 2028

During FY2024-25, the major activity is to prepare the reference design and tender documents. Funds to be released through the NSW Ad-hoc Election Commitment will cover this expenditure. Depending on the outcome of NWGF funding application, Council is to keep seeking additional funding prior to commencing construction in FY2025-26.