Northern Water Engineeering Management

Ricardo were engaged to undertake a wide ranging and multifaceted engineering management role on behalf of the South Australian government as part of the development of the Northern Water project. Ricardo provided the overall leadership of the technical workstreams as well as a number of other key leadership positions to ensure the success of the project.

Challenge

Northern Water is an infrastructure project of national significance which aims to provide a new, climate independent water source for the Far North, Upper Spencer Gulf and Eastern Eyre Peninsula regions of South Australia, to enable the growth of industries crucial to achieving net-zero goals, including the emerging green energy and hydrogen industries. It would see the construction of a large seawater desalination plant and up to 600 km of major pipeline infrastructure.

After passing a business case gate review, the project required technical and engineering leadership to develop the project to a stage where it was ready for the major package procurement. There were also a series of disparate technically related activities that needed completing and significant interface management between the development of the technical solution and other project areas such as approvals, stakeholder relations and commercial assessments. As a multifaceted technical advisory firm, Ricardo was awarded the contract to fill this role.

Approach

Ricardo worked in partnership with the South Australian government and other project stake holders to deliver:

• Engineering management and strategic leadership of the technical advisor as they developed the project’s reference design and associated technical specifications.
• Management of the technical field investigations including aerial topography surveys, geotechnical investigations, bathymetry, and onshore and offshore geophysics studies.
• Sampling and analysis of sea water over an extended period to inform the process design. This was supplemented with state-of-the-art historical aerial imagery analysis to quantify algae risk.

Client outcomes

The Northern Water project was a complicated major infrastructure undertaking by government which sought to bring together private industry, the community, traditional owner groups and various government departments to deliver infrastructure solutions in a novel way. By engaging Ricardo to act as engineering manager, the government was able to:

• Effectively manage technical interface risk between multiple workstreams while maintain a single strategic vision of the engineering solution.
• Effectively manage the major technical advisor contract and ensure that outcomes were focussed on a best for project outcome and as an assurance check of the standards applied.
• Have confidence that industry experts with real world experience were managing and reviewing schedule development and cost estimates.
• Development of a baseline construction schedule, operating strategy and cost estimate alongside management of expert construction estimators to develop a baseline project cost. This information was used by Ricardo to develop whole of life cost models including project tariff projections.
• Development if technical requirements relating to customer interfaces and the development of the associated protocols to ensure sustainable and reliable future operations.
• Development and review of technical specifications related to design and construction and operations and maintenance as part of the government’s procurement processes.

“Ricardo provided engineering management services for the Northern Water Project over a period of two and a half years. They displayed an unwavering commitment to achieving the best outcomes for the project based on deep knowledge and experience of the water industry. They demonstrated strategic vision and meticulous attention to detail to drive the project forward, ensuring that milestones were met with excellence in their deliverables. Ricardo's ability to work collaboratively was a cornerstone of the project's success and moreover, Ricardo has proven to be a trusted partner throughout the project's duration.”

- Mike Morgan, Project Director