Pipeline site on Straddie still unclear

THE Gold Coast City Council is yet to finalise where a recycled water pipeline will cross under South Stradbroke Island as work on the $400 million project begins on the mainland.

Construction will start next month at Quota Park, Biggera Waters, on a 1450m pipeline about 2.5m in diameter to cross the Broadwater.

Residents are being warned about restricted access to the park as tunnelling begins, with vertical shafts of up to 9m in diameter and 20m deep needed at either end of the crossing.

At the same time, a 920mlong pipeline, 1.2m in diameter, will be built by boring under the Nerang River from Winchester St, Southport, across to Waterways Drive, Main Beach.

“There will be no impact to boating traffic,” a council spokesman told the Bulletin.

The Broadwater crossing is expected to take 12 months, and the Nerang River pipeline nine months, as part of the $70 million first stage.

The Save Our Spit community group has asked council about potential damage to renowned surf zone The Other Side, and sought assurance that the offshore release of recycled water would not affect the marine environment.

A map released during The Spit master plan process shows the pipeline crossing the surf zone, extending 3km out to sea, but council officers maintain no decision can be made until all scientific studies are done.

“Future stages of the Long Term Recycled Water Release Plan involve adding a release point at an offshore location, currently scheduled for 2022,” the council spokesperson said.

“The next step … is to commence the Commonwealth referral process under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, which we will be doing in the coming months.”

John Holland Queensland was awarded the initial job.

The works will upgrade the existing network established more than 30 years ago, to release the excess recycled water on the outgoing tide through underwater diffusers located either side of the Seaway.

The system operating since 1984 had relied on secondary treated water being pumped across the Broadwater from Labrador to an outfall at the western tip of South Stradbroke Island.

A second underground pipe from the Nerang River through Main Beach connects to the southern side of the Seaway.

Council is releasing updates and encouraging email feedback at recycledwater@gold coast.qld.gov.au Go to youtu.be/8XmxYbooWs4 to see a video.