Standards and specifications

How to meet building and developing requirements

Listed providers for building and developing must use our instructions, forms, and standards and specifications to fulfil all work requirements. These documents are updated from time to time.

About our standards

To sustain and continuously improve the value to our customers, we use engineering expertise and learnings from around the world to provide world-class water services. With this knowledge, we create, maintain and update the engineering standards we use to build and maintain our assets. Our standards focus on technical requirements that provide more clarity to the wider industry and Australian Standards. They promote the best value for money for us and our customers.

Framework for engineering assurance

We have a framework of interrelated processes to assure high engineering standards for our assets. The framework is mandated by our accredited ISO 55001 Asset Management System.

Standards

Our standards provide planning, design, construction, operations and maintenance support to the asset planning and creation functions under the Asset Management Policy and Asset Creation Policy. They are a collection of guidelines, specifications, methodologies and requirements. They continually evolve through changing operational conditions, innovations, improvements or suggestions that come from real-world experience, and changes to performance expectations.

• Engineering standards governance procedure D00002010

We rely on professional engineers to provide services to create, maintain and operate our assets. To optimise value to the public, engineers who provide engineering design services must also meet our competency standard. This ensures assets are designed to achieve planned outcomes and are fit for purpose.

• Engineering competency standard D0000833
• Appendix A Evidence of competency form (79 KB, DOCX)
• Appendix B Independent verification certificate (77 KB, DOCX)

Design procedures

These procedures apply to the design process.

• Safety in Design procedure D0000653
• Safety in Design frequently asked questions SW113
• Deviation from standards procedure D0001738
• Deviation from standards procedure D0001738 – attachments (1.1 MB, ZIP)

Manuals

These guidelines provide information and design guidelines for our infrastructure.

• Water system planning guideline AMQ0562
• Wastewater network planning guideline D0000666
• Wastewater treatment planning guidelines D0001891
• Transient analysis guideline D0002125

Hierarchy of standards

Our technical specifications take precedence

Sydney Water's civil, mechanical, electrical, and instrumentation and control specifications take precedence over any other standard and specification.

• Technical specification – civil CPDMS0023
  
• Technical specification – mechanical BMIS0209
• Technical specification – electrical CPDMS0022 including amendment no. 1, 2023
  • Technical specification – electrical CPDMS0022 (amendment no. 1, 2023)
• Technical specification – instrumentation and control (general) HSS0009

Supplementary specifications and standards

These specifications and standards must be used in conjunction with the above technical specifications, regardless of whether they are or are not referenced therein.

• Technical specification – LV switchboard modification D0002332
• Technical specification – commissioning D0001440
• Computer aided drafting (CAD) standard and specification CDPMS0021
• CAD templates (215 KB, ZIP)
• Sewer design – flow schedule tool (4,072 KB, XLSM)
• General technical specification – water reservoir D0001963
• Technical specification – permanent gas-driven generator D0002097
• Technical specification – permanent gas engine-driven pump D0002174
• Technical specification – permanent diesel-engine-driven pump D0002169
• Technical specification – permanent diesel generator D0002061
• Minor works (sewer) technical requirements and work instructions
• Reticulation sewers in basements technical guidelines
• EPS 210 Engineering product specification for welded steel pipes and fittings D0000895
• User guide for the adoption of FRP in Sydney Water
• FRP asset preventive maintenance inspection form
• FRP platforms, walkways, stairways and ladders specification
• Maintenance specification D0001441
• Technical specification – waste gas burner installations D0001871
• Soil assessment for installation of ductile iron pipes without sleeving procedure D0000708
• Emergency relief structure: Headwall and duckbill check valve arrangement guideline D0001964
• Design specification – dewatering equipment D00001932
• Design specification – water pumping stations D0002071
• Design guideline – minimising odour-causing turbulence in wastewater networks D0002356
• Technical specification – arc flash D0002263
• Technical specification – solar PV D0001431

Specialised assessments: building over or adjacent to our assets

• Technical guidelines – building over and adjacent to pipe assets SW269
• Building over or adjacent to our stormwater assets guide SW69
• Building bridges over our open stormwater channels guide SW107
• Specialist Engineering Assessment (SEA) procedure D0001870
• Appendix B: SEA submission checklist D0001870 (71 KB, DOCX)
• Appendix C: Table of contents required in the SEA report D0001870 (33 KB, DOCX)

Chemical dosing and odour control for wastewater

• Technical specification – odour control unit ACP0004
• Technical specification – chemical dosing unit ACP0002

Disinfection of water

• Technical specification – network rechlorination plant D0000389

Wastewater pump-station-related specifications

• Technical specification – renewal of dry well sewage pumping stations D0000691
• Renewal of dry well sewage pumping stations design checklist D0002345
• Design specification – sewage pumping stations dry well ventilation D0001896
• Sewage pumping stations dry well ventilation design checklist D0002343
• Wet well pumping stations design checklist (civil, mechanical & structural) D0001217 (231 KB, DOCX) 
• Sewage pumping stations needs specification guide and Q&As 2979762
• Sewage pumping stations needs specification template 2979763 (250 KB, DOCX)

High voltage (HV)

• Technical specification – batteries and chargers for HV installations DOC0008
• Technical specification – HV electrical cables DOC0009
• Technical specification – HV motors DOC0010
• Technical specification – HV power factor correction DOC0011
• Technical specification – HV switchgear DOC0012
• Technical specification – protection DOC0014
• Technical specification – HV motor starters DOC0015
• Technical specification – earthing and lightning DOC0016
• Technical specification – HV overhead line equipment DOC0017
• Technical specification – HV switchrooms DOC0018
• Technical specification – power transformers DOC0019
• Technical specification – prefabricated (kiosk) substations DOC0020
• Technical specification – HV installations DOC0270

Sewer rehabilitation

• SS 201 Linings for circular non-person-entry wastewater pipe specification ACP0143
• SS 202 Localised sewer repairs from inside specification ACP0193
• SS 203 Lining of circular person-entry concrete pipes specification ACP0144
• SS 207 Junction sealing for circular non-person-entry wastewater pipe specification ACP0192
• SS 208 Rehabilitation and corrosion protection of sewers using calcium aluminate cement mortar technical specification ACP0172
• SS 209 Lining repairs of non-person-entry oviform sewers specification ACP01`46
• SS 210 Corrosion protection and rehabilitation of maintenance holes specification AMQ0132
• SS 211 Corrosion protection of sewers using magnesium hydroxide coating specification
• List of Deemed to Comply products for pipeline rehabilitation specification ACP0003
• Schedule of technical data for liner for sewer rehabilitation
• Preparation of Work As Constructed (WAC) drawings

WSAA codes

We maintain our own editions of and supplements to Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) codes. You must use these instead of the standard WSAA codes. You can purchase Sydney Water editions of the codes at the WSAA Shop: Sydney Water Codes.

The following supplements must be used in conjunction with the relevant WSAA codes:

• Sydney Water supplement to Pressure Sewerage Code of Australia WSA 07 2007 V1.1 D0001898
• Sydney Water supplement to Industry Standard for Submersible Pumps for Sewage Pumping Stations WSA 101 2008 D0000677
• Supplement to Sewage Pumping Station Code of Australia WSA 04-2005-2.1 – Sydney Water Edition – 2012 D0002313

Deemed to Comply (DTC) drawings

Sydney Water's DTC drawings are intended to assist designers and constructors in building assets that meet our requirements. The use of DTCs are subject to very specific terms and conditions. Please read our Deemed to Comply drawings terms and conditions of use before using DTC drawings.

DTC drawings are approved design solutions that help to construct high-volume, repetitive assets. It is not mandatory to use these drawings.

How to download DTC drawings

1    Choose one of these folders or diagrams:

• Water series (13.4 MB, ZIP)
• Wastewater series (16.8 MB, ZIP)
• Sewage pumping stations series (21.9 MB, ZIP)
• Network CDU and RCP series (22 MB, ZIP)
• Facility fencing series (1.7 MB, ZIP)
• Chemical dosing P&IDs at treatment plants series (636.4 KB, ZIP)
• Emergency Relief Structure (ERS) series (4.2 MB, ZIP)
• Ventilation shaft series (4.12 MB, ZIP)
• DTC 3200 – High voltage variable speed drive single line diagram
• Flowmeter installation

2    Get the drawing number from the list.

3    Download the drawing.

Acceptable products

Only use conforming standard products and/or listed non-standard products for components that are critical for the long-term performance of our networks.

Standard products must conform and be certified to the relevant product specification that has been adopted by us and shown in the EPS 500 Engineering product specification for standard pipes and fittings for networks D0001613.

Non-standard products are deemed by us to be fit for purpose and/or provide equivalent functional performance to standard products. They're individually listed in the EPS 501 List of approved non-standard products for networks D0001614.

Related document

• Procedure – Approval of products ACP0066

Standards alerts

We update our instructions, forms, and standards and specifications from time to time. Our Standards Alert helps you understand how new and updated versions may affect your work requirements.
 

Standards newsletters

Our quarterly Standards Newsletter provides the latest updates and news about our engineering standards.