Aura and Harmony Project overview
Project summary
Unitywater’s program of works will provide essential water and wastewater services for the growing Aura and Harmony communities on the Sunshine Coast.
With a projected population of 50,000 residents in Aura by 2050 and 21,000 residents in Harmony by 2036, this program is vital in meeting the future demands of the communities, ensuring their long-term sustainability and development.
The program includes three major projects:
Unitywater is committed to delivering sustainable and reliable infrastructure that will improve the network's overall reliability, meet water and wastewater demand for its customers, and deliver significant benefits to the growing region.
Construction began in April 2023 and is set to be completed by early 2026. The program is essential in supporting the expected growth of these areas.
Construction update
October 2023
Welcome to your first Construction Update for the Aura and Harmony Program.
You will enjoy reading about the great progress made since construction commenced in April 2023.
This newsletter is for you, the residents and stakeholders; designed to keep you updated with the latest news from the Aura Water, Harmony Water and Aura Wastewater projects.
Enjoy the flow of information!
Aura and Harmony pipe delivery day
Pipe dream realised… Pipe landing day for Aura and Harmony
More than 15 years ago, Unitywater started negotiating infrastructure agreements with developers, Stockland and Avid, to ensure the right water and wastewater infrastructure would be in place to cater for future growth within Aura and Harmony.
Their "pipe dream" became more of a reality this month when a special new arrival rolled into the Sunshine Coast – the start of 27 kilometres of pipe for the Aura and Harmony Trunk Infrastructure Program, the largest program in Unitywater's history.
To mark this milestone day for the Aura and Harmony Program, the construction team threw a celebration to welcome our new arrival with open arms. Construction team members took turns signing a 710mm diameter pipe – the first to be installed along the Bells Creek Arterial, ensuring a safe and reliable wastewater service from a new wastewater pump station in Aura to the Kawana Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Unitywater's CEO Anna Jackson said that the pipes play a crucial role in delivering essential water and wastewater services to the Aura and Harmony communities.
“With a projected population of 50,000 residents in Stockland's Aura development by 2050 and 21,000 residents in Avid's Harmony development by 2036, the program is vital to ensure the long-term sustainability and development of these areas."
McConnell Dowell, Unitywater's construction delivery partner on the program, is now set to lay down the pipeline one stage at a time.
Aura Water Project: 12.5 kilometres of new pipe along Steve Irwin Way and Hapgood Road, between the Ewen Maddock Water Treatment Plant and Aura in Caloundra South.
Harmony Water Project: 2.6 kilometres of new pipe along Bellflower Road, between Tanawha and Harmony in Palmview.
Aura Wastewater Project: 12.5 kilometres of new pipe along Bells Creek Arterial Road and Kawana Way Link Road between Aura in Caloundra South and the Kawana Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Ms Jackson said caring for community is at the heart of this program and the team’s ongoing commitment to engage early with impacted residents and businesses has been and will continue to be a core focus of the program.
“Both Unitywater and McConnell Dowell are committed to delivering this program with the highest standards of safety, environmental responsibility, and community engagement,” Ms Jackson said.
“We thank the local community for their patience as we install these new pipelines underground as quickly and safely as possible.
“It’s been wonderful to see community members be generous with their time and local knowledge, so we can plan to minimise the impacts of construction as much as possible.”
For more information about Unitywater's Aura and Harmony Program, check out our Community Hub.
Pictured above: It’s a pipe party! The Aura and Harmony Program team celebrating the arrival of the first pieces of pipe at the construction site office in Meridan Plains.
Program snapshot: Making good progress
Construction managers love to be able to say their program is running on time and on budget. So far, so good with the Aura and Harmony Program.
Here’s a snapshot of where we’re up to with each project:
Aura Water Project
Fauna monitoring and site preparation is underway close to the Ewen Maddock Dam Wastewater Treatment Plant and we will soon make our way down Steve Irwin Way before heading east across to Hapgood Road and then over to Aura.
Harmony Water Project
The site for the new 12 megalitre (with capacity for 12 Olympic sized swimming pools) water reservoir is currently being prepared just off Tanawha Road and we’ve also commenced trenching for the water pipeline down along Bellflower Road, Sippy Downs. We are incredibly grateful to the residents in these areas for their patience as our construction progresses.
Aura Wastewater Project
For those who are enjoying the opening of the new part of the Bells Creek Arterial, you may have noticed as you travel south on the new section, there is some large-scale construction happening on the left-hand side of the road. This is the site for the new Aura Wastewater Pump Station. We are currently digging a large hole (15 metres to be exact!) to cater for the pumping of wastewater for up to 50,000 residents in Aura by 2050.
Further north along the older section of the Bells Creek Arterial, trenchless pipe laying is underway through the environmentally sensitive sections of the pipeline alignment.
For more information including maps of the pipeline alignments for each of the projects above, go to our Community Hub.
Pictured above: Program Engineer, Gwennie Lam, inspecting the pipes before they go underground.
Embracing the local community: A commitment to sustainability and partnership
Jobs for locals
Delivery partner, McConnell Dowell, understands the significance of minimising its footprint while maximising its contribution to the communities it serves.
We anticipate that this program will generate more than 200 jobs and inject more than $80 million into the local economy. Remarkably, a staggering 85% of our Program workforce already call the Sunshine Coast home.
Regional sourcing
Over 27 kilometers of substantial piping, procured from the Toowoomba-based supplier Vinidex, has begun to arrive at our site. Transporting this essential infrastructure requires more than 160 semi-trailer loads from Toowoomba. These pipes will provide crucial water supply to the growing Aura and Harmony communities, as well as wastewater services to Aura.
The Aura and Harmony Program is not just about the present; it's about building a legacy that will span the next century.
Giving back to Compass
One of our core values is giving back to the community, and we are proud to support organisations like Compass through the Aura and Harmony Program. The Compass Institute, an award-winning 'For Purpose' organisation on the Sunshine Coast, is dedicated to providing support for individuals with intellectual and/or physical abilities.
Our program leadership team recently visited The Compass Farm near Palmwoods, where we witnessed Compass clients participating in various activities such as gardening, catering, hospitality, arts and crafts, candle and jewellery making, animal care, and socialising. We were deeply impressed by their commitment, passion and enthusiasm.
We are excited to collaborate with Compass to provide trainee-based work opportunities through the Aura and Harmony Program for clients interested in gaining insights into the construction industry.
Discover more about Compass and their incredible work in our community.
Pictured above: The Program Leadership Team recently visited The Compass Farm near Palmwoods where The Compass Institute CEO, David Dangerfield, gave an inspiring guided tour of the meaningful work they do in our community.
Building bright futures: Welcoming work experience students to the construction community
Providing young people with work experience in construction is essential to Unitywater and McConnell Dowell’s mission to give back the community where we work.
Enter Sunshine Coast Technical Trade Training Centre. A fantastic local facility providing essential training and development to young people on the Sunshine Coast.
During the September school holidays, we worked to provide work experience opportunities for two young people as part of the essential “on the job” training element for their Certificate 1 Course in Construction.
We sat down with Charlotte and Theo to find out a little more about their experience.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Charlotte: I’d like to know in five years which area of construction I would like to go into. I’d like to have a go at being in the mines, but I don’t know which area I would work in just yet.
I want to own my own business and start a company and get big like McConnell Dowell.
Theo: I’d like to be a machine operator in the mines doing FIFO. I like the idea of far into the future opening my own business and being my own boss.
My friends and I would like to travel when we finish school, I’d like to travel around South America, particularly Brazil because of the soccer – I really like soccer.
What do you love about living on the Sunshine Coast?
Charlotte: The environment, people and beach – I love being outside and going to the beach and having beach walks. Being inside doesn’t interest me, so I want to be outside as much as possible.
Theo: I like the weather and the opportunities to play soccer, I play for Caloundra City Soccer Club and train weekly for this during the season. Where I live in Harmony there are soccer fields where I can practice too.
Why did you select McConnell Dowell for your work experience?
Charlotte: With a list of over 300 potential placements, the work experience manager at the trade college felt this would be a good choice for me to get experience on a large-scale project. Since arriving I have realised how big the program is – I had no idea how much would be happening during this placement, and it has given me a good insight.
Theo: It is different to trade school, I can learn different things here and I haven’t done any pipelines work there. It was also a convenient place for me to complete my experience being so local. I have learnt a lot on the Aura and Harmony program and spent a lot of time with different supervisors and a superintendent which has given me a good overview.
How have you found your time on the Aura & Harmony Program?
Charlotte: The team has been friendly, and everyone seems like a big friend group and easy to talk to. I’ve really enjoyed learning more about the Health & Safety of a project, as that is where I have been based and learnt about different jobs on a project - I didn’t know pipe welding was a thing!
Has anyone and anything inspired you to get into the construction industry?
Charlotte: My pop works FIFO on roads and he started off as a bricklayer and worked his way up to a manager. That is what success means to me and I want to follow a similar path.
What has been your biggest inspiration to get into the construction industry?
Theo: I can see how my dad has progressed to a Project Manager and I enjoy the opportunities to be more practical at work as it makes me more engaged.
So, there you have it. Charlotte and Theo are two young people full of enthusiasm and we know their futures are looking bright already. All the team would like to thank Charlotte and Theo for their interest and time spent helping us build essential water and wastewater infrastructure for Sunshine Coast communities.
Pictured above: Work experience students Theo and Charlotte, already well on their way to an exciting future.
