Projects
Bryn Estyn Water Treatment Plant Upgrade, Australia
Supporting TasWater with an innovative solution to future-proof Tasmania’s water supply
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Image courtesy of TasWater
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Image courtesy of TasWater
In the face of growing environmental challenges, ensuring access to clean, safe water is more crucial than ever. Water bodies like the Derwent River in Tasmania, Australia, play a vital role in supporting both the ecosystem and the communities that rely on them. However, unique water quality issues can pose significant threats, necessitating innovative solutions to protect these precious resources.
To address the specific water quality challenge in the Derwent River, a collaborative effort was launched involving Jacobs, TasWater (Tasmania's water and sewage utility) and the TasWater Capital Delivery Office, which includes contractors CPB and UGL. This partnership focused on upgrading an existing water treatment plant in Hobart to create an engineering solution tailored to the unique conditions of the river—an approach not commonly seen in Australian water treatment plants.
TasWater needed to upgrade the Bryn Estyn Water Treatment Plant to meet future water demands and address quality issues from the Derwent River. They turned to Jacobs with our local expertise and global experience treating similar water sources to provide detailed design and construction phase support for the project. The result was a multi-barrier treatment process able to manage a wide range of water quality conditions specific to the source water, validated early in design through extensive treatability testing. The project has shown immediate improvements in water quality for the region since it was completed in late 2023.
The Bryn Estyn Water Treatment Plant upgrade is a significant project completed under TasWater’s largest ever infrastructure initiative, valued at USD $164.1 million (AUD $243.9 million). The project augmented the existing plant to meet the increasing demand for drinking water as Hobart's population grows. The upgrade includes advanced water treatment processes such as ozonation and biological activated carbon (BAC) filtration to provide more than 42 million gallons (160 million liters) per day of safe, high-quality drinking water.
Industry recognition
- Winner: Infrastructure Partnerships Australia 2024 National Infrastructure Awards -Government Partnerships Excellence Award
- Winner: Best project over $150M at the 2024 Civil Contractors Federation Earth Awards in Tasmania
“Jacobs' process design team showcased their deep understanding of water treatment engineering and regulatory landscapes. They were instrumental in ensuring that the new plant met the health-based targets outlined in the latest edition of the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. This included achieving pathogen removal targets based on the category of source water, which was a critical requirement for TasWater. One of the key innovations in the treatment train introduced by Jacobs was the optimization of the filtration process. Leveraging global experience with similar water quality, Jacobs demonstrated that a single stage of filtration, combined with biological activated carbon (BAC) treatment, could meet the required turbidity limits and pathogen removal targets.”
Did you know?
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42
million gallons/day (160ml/day) of drinking water provided by the upgraded plant
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$ 164.1
million USD ($243.9 million AU) Total investment for the largest capital works project in TasWater’s history
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60 %
Bryn Estyn supplies 60% of Greater Hobart’s drinking water
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50 years
The upgrade future-proofs Hobart's water supply for the next half-century
Key team members
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Shaun O'Brien, Project Manager
Responsible for coordination of an exceptional design team for the delivery of detailed design.
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Jon Bates, Lead Process Engineer
Responsible for identification and development of an optimal, cost effective, robust and resilient process solution.
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Brad Allpike, Design Manager
Responsible for coordination and integration of all engineering disciplines to provide a seamless solution to the client.
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Jesus Garcia-Aleman, Global Technical Lead
Involved with the Jacobs team from tender through to commissioning and provided invaluable technical inputs to support the team and the client.
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Sohail Yamin, Mechanical Design Team Lead
Responsible for equipment procurement and completion of mechanical design.
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Steven Chadwick, Structural Lead
Worked diligently with the team and the client to produce cost effective design solutions, which managed risk and resulted in exceptional outcomes.
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Brett Banfield, BIM Manager
Responsible for delivery of the design modelling, quality assurance (QA) processes and production of an effective live 3D model client interface.
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