Malabar System Investment Program

Malabar system upgrade

We're upgrading the Malabar system over the next few years to meet future demand. This work will make our water services more efficient and sustainable.

About this project

Over the next few years, we're doing several projects to improve the Malabar wastewater management system.

One of these projects will be at the Fairfield wet weather treatment plant. This plant helps manage stormwater during heavy rain by diverting and treating excess flows from the North Georges River submain. The upgrade will improve its performance and help protect homes and waterways during storms.

How the Malabar system works

The Malabar wastewater management system catchment extends from the Parramatta River in the north, to Botany Bay in the south, west to Leppington and south to Campbelltown. It captures wastewater from both long-established neighbourhoods and recently opened areas prioritised for future growth.

The Malabar system consists of the following:

• Malabar Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) located on the Malabar headland
• Glenfield and Liverpool WRRFS (inland)
• Fairfield wet weather treatment plant
• Malabar deep ocean outfall.

The Malabar WRRF primarily treats raw wastewater from the inner catchments of Botany, Cooks River and the upper and lower Georges River catchments before releasing into the ocean via the Malabar deep ocean outfall. In the outer catchments, primary and secondary treated water from the Glenfield and Liverpool WRRFs is also released to the ocean via the same deep ocean outfall at Malabar.

Fairfield wet weather treatment plant

The Fairfield wet weather treatment plant provides primary treatment for wastewater. This process removes sediment and grit using several methods:

• fine screens filter out items like paper, cotton tips and plastic
• aerated grit tanks remove sand and grit that settle at the bottom
• sedimentation tanks remove solids that settle at the bottom
• scrapers remove oil and grease that float to the top.

We're upgrading the Fairfield plant to reduce odour and improve operational efficiency. We're also upgrading the Liverpool to Ashfield pipeline to reduce odour and increase capacity.

These upgrades will help us meet environmental requirements and keep the network running smoothly as demand on the Malabar system grows.

What we're doing

We're installing sealed tanks, advanced odour control systems and new monitoring protocols. This work will improve the Liverpool to Ashfield pipeline and increase the capacity of the Malabar network, reducing environmental overflows.

Key work includes:

• upgrading 40 air valves and 28 odour canisters along the pipeline
• installing a new odour control unit at Ashfield
• building 2 new odour control units at Fairfield
• installing new screens and grit dewatering equipment
• refurbishing sedimentation tank scrapers and installing improved cleaning systems
• upgrading electrical equipment, switchboards and transformers
• civil works for new equipment and pipework
• civil roadwork.

We'll also install new tanks, lay new pipework and add pumping systems to improve network capacity. This will reduce wet weather overflows and odour in Fairfield and across the Malabar system.

Benefits

The upgrades will deliver a cleaner environment and a more reliable wastewater system for Fairfield and Greater Sydney. They will:

• reduce odour and overflows, creating a cleaner and healthier environment
• improve water quality in local waterways
• upgrade electrical systems for a more reliable service
• support Sydney's growing population
• control odours in Ashfield with a new unit on Robert Street.