Flood engineering project wins 2023 Engineers Australia Excellence Award

A flood repair project has won an engineering award for its work in cleaning polluted water after the disaster in February 2022.

The region’s top engineers and engineering projects have been named at the 2023 Engineers Australia Excellence Awards – People & Projects Newcastle, held at the Newcastle Club.

“The Engineers Australia Excellence Awards celebrate excellence in engineering and remind us of the enormous impact engineers have on our daily lives,” said Helen Link, Engineers Australia GM Newcastle.

“This recognition gives them a platform to both highlight their groundbreaking work and advocate for the engineering profession, laying a foundation and inspiration for those coming after them. We are not just applauding their achievements, but also setting a standard and vision for the future of engineering.”

Newcastle Project of the Year

Biological Leachate Remediation, ENV Solutions (ENV) T/A ENV Remediation Services and ENV Services, NSW Public Works – Department of Regional NSW.

After flood waters damaged Lismore’s garbage dump and sewage plant, leading to 20 million litres of polluted water, the NSW Public Works team took charge to handle the repairs.

They got help from ENV, a company skilled in environmental fixes, to produce a temporary way to clean this water. ENV used a method they called Biological Leachate Remediation (BLR).

This method used a mix of techniques to clean the water, removing things like metals and harmful chemicals.

ENV’s approach was not only friendly to the environment but also cost-effective. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has suggested the method could be used in other places and for different water cleaning tasks.