Yass Water Treatment Plant Upgrade

Updated 1 July 2025

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

Background

The project to prepare a Design and Business Case for the upgrade of the Yass WTP commenced in November 2019. The Housing Acceleration Fund (HAF) funded this project a a cost of $1.2M with a total commitment of $10M for the WTP Upgrade. During this project, stakeholders required that Stage 1 - Early Works be carried out in advance in December 2020. Stage 1 Works included the installation of a bubble plume aeration system at the Yass Dam, upgrade of the Raw Water Pump Station (RWPS), and urgent works at the Yass WTP. Stage 1 Works were completed at a cost of $2.2M funded by HAF at the end of February 2023. The Final Business Case was endorsed by Council at its extraordinary Council Meeting on 9 May 2024.

An upgrade of the reticulation system is also required to ensure treated water can reach customers without being impacted by the accumulated mineral deposits in the water mains.

Funding

Funding commitments to date are as follows:

Fund	Amount	Notes
Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF)	$6,600,000	Administered through Department of Planning Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI)/NSW Treasury. The Deed was executed on 2 October 2024.
NSW Ad Hoc Election Fund	$13,550,000	Administered through Department Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW). The Deed was executed on 3 December 2024. Includes funding component for Yass water reticulation upgrade ($1.7M). The allocation of funds between WTP upgrade and water reticulation upgrade is subject to change.
National Water Grid Fund (NWGF)	$18,100,000	Funding committed on 13 December 2024. To be administered through DCCEEW as a variation to the existing Ad hoc Election Funding Deed.
NSW Health Fluoridation Grant	TBA	Liaison with NSW Health is in progress and $972,000 is nominated in the Business Case.
Total Funding	$38,250,000	Funding total includes Yass water reticulation upgrade component.

Implementation

Engage Owner's Engineer: Council resolved to accept the tender from BECA HunterH20 (136/2025). The contract was signed on 10 April 2025. This contract is to prepare the Reference Design and Tender documents for the procurement of a Design and Construct (D&C) contract. Prior to tendering for the D&C contract, an Owner's Engineer will be engaged to subsequently manage tendering, tender evaluation, construction supervision, commissioning and training.

The following table identifies the major project milestones and key dates, which are subject to change:

Activity	Date
a) Funding Deed Executed	Dec 2024
b) Engage Owner's Engineer	Apr 2025
c) Reference Design and Section 60 Approvals (in progress)	Oct 2025
d) Expression of Interest (EOI) & Early Tendering Involvement (ETI) Process	Jun 2025 - Mar 2026
e) D&C Tender Open	Apr 2026
f) D&C Contract Award	Oct 2026
g) Construction Commencement	Nov 2026
h) Commissioning of Main WTP	May 2028
i) Completion of Construction Nov 2028	Nov 2028
j) Project Completion	Nov 2028

Reference Design and Section 60 Approvals

The following activities have been completed:

7 Apr 2025

Kick off Meeting for the contract: Preparation of reference design and tender documentation (YVC-IA-33-2024) with DCCEEW Water.

19-22 Apr 2025

Existing filter inspections were carried out by Beca HunterH20 and Council staff at Yass WTP. Representatives from DCCEEW and NSW Health also attended this inspection.

Inspection reports are being reviewed by DCCEEW and Council.

Preparations for surveys, service locating, geotechnical investigation, site layout etc. are in progress.

Bimonthly updates are provided to the Council Meetings and available on the Council web pages, and can be accessed by following the link below.

https://www.yassvalley.nsw.gov.au/Our-Council/Council-Meetings/Agendas-and-Minutes