Stormwater amenity improvements
Hunter Water is enhancing the amenity of sections of our open stormwater channels to enrich the natural environment, create revitalised spaces for the community to enjoy, and reconnect the community with their local waterways.
What we’re doing
We are carrying out works on the channel banks and landscaping along our stormwater channels at:
- Winding Creek in Wilkinson Park, Cardiff
- Throsby Creek in Litchfield Park, Mayfield
- Dark Creek in Heaton Park, Jesmond
- Bellbird Creek in Manning Park, Cessnock
Murals are also planned to be installed along the stormwater
channels at Throsby Creek in Litchfield Park, Mayfield and at Winding Creek in Wilkinson Park,
Cardiff.
More information
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Construction on the stormwater visual improvements in Mayfield has started, and we have engaged Diona to carry out this work on behalf of Hunter Water.
What are we building?
The works are located within the stormwater channel and banks of Throsby Creek in Litchfield Park and will involve:- setting up a temporary site office and storage compound in Litchfield Park
- creating a temporary access track adjacent to the stormwater channel
- removing a section of concrete channel embankment
- creating a tiered embankment with sandstone blocks
- landscaping the embankment with soil beds and planting over 600 native plants
- installing a new fence
- restoring all impacted areas
Construction work hours and timing
Construction has started, and will be finished by early October 2023, weather permitting.Most activity will be carried out from 7am to 6pm Monday to Friday and Saturday from 8am to 1pm.
What to expect
Our construction will include the use of excavators, trucks, saw cutters, hand tools and light vehicles. Site offices and storage areas will be installed inside our temporary storage compounds. We will also be building temporary access tracks and installing a temporary safety fence around the perimeter of our works.
There will be some noisy construction activities associated with our work including saw-cutting and rock-breaking the existing concrete channel. There will also be an increase in vehicle movements on Myola Street with the required delivery and removal of equipment and materials. Myola Street will remain open to all road users, however there may be slight delays to facilitate the entry and exit of heavy vehicles.
We will do our best to minimise the impacts of our work on the community where possible.
More information
We’ll continue to keep you updated as the project progresses. If you’d like to know more about the project, please contact our community liaison representative David Crowhurst on 1300 131 338 or email community@diona.com.auMap of Mayfield stormwater amenity improvement works
Artist impression of the work being carried out at Litchfield Park in Mayfield
Mayfield mural
As part of the project we’re also looking at installing a mural running along the back fencing of houses on Moolcha Street. We are still in the process of finalising the details and will continue to speak with residents about this.
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Construction on the stormwater visual improvements in Cardiff has started, and we have engaged Diona to carry out this work on behalf of Hunter Water.
What are we building?
The works are located within the stormwater channel and banks of Winding Creek in Wilkinson Park, Cardiff and will involve:
- setting up a temporary site office and storage compounds
- removing a section of concrete channel embankment
- creating a sloped embankment
- landscaping the embankment with soil beds and planting over 5400 native plants
- restoring all impacted areas
Construction work hours and timing
Construction has started, and will be finished by early 2024, weather permitting.Most activity will be carried out from 7am to 6pm Monday to Friday and Saturday from 8am to 1pm.
What to expect
Our construction will include the use of excavators, trucks, saw cutters, hand tools and light vehicles. Site offices, amenities and material storage areas will be installed inside our temporary storage compounds. We will also be building temporary access tracks and installing a temporary safety fence around the perimeter of our works.
There will be some noisy construction activities associated with our work including saw-cutting and rock-breaking the existing concrete channel. There will also be an increase in vehicle movements on Henry Street, Railway Parade and Mac Street with the required delivery and removal of equipment and materials. All roads will remain open, however there may be slight delays to facilitate the entry and exit of heavy vehicles.
The shared access path will remain open, however there may be slight delays when construction traffic is required to cross the pathway.
We will do our best to minimise the impacts of our work on the community where possible.
More information
We’ll continue to keep you updated as the project progresses. If you’d like to know more about the project, please contact our community liaison representative David Crowhurst on 1300 131 338 or email community@diona.com.auMap of Cardiff stormwater amenity improvement works
Artist impression of the work being carried out at Winding Creek in Cardiff
Cardiff mural
As part of this project, we engaged local street art and mural business Up&Up to design and paint a 30-metre long mural between Macquarie Road and Harrison Street.
The artwork has been painted onto panels and attached to the existing fence.
Ideas for the artwork came from two creative sessions with Cardiff High School students, as well as consultation with members of the street art community in Cardiff.
The three key ideas that cane out of these sessions were to:
- include words with a positive message
- incorporate elements of nature
- include something fun.
The mural was installed in February 2023.
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Construction on the stormwater visual improvements in Cessnock has started, and we have engaged Diona to complete this work on behalf of Hunter Water.
We’ve planned these works so that they fit in with the design of Council’s newly constructed shared path through Manning Park.
What are we building?
The works are located adjacent to the stormwater channel at Bellbird Creek in Manning Park, Cessnock and will involve:
- setting up a temporary site office and storage compound in Manning Park, Cessnock.
- installing a pathway adjacent to the stormwater channel that will link Council’s pathway through Manning Park and the pedestrian bridge across the channel.
- landscaping the area between the new footpath and the stormwater channel with over 6700 native plants.
- installing a new fence along the park side of the stormwater channel.
- installing seating adjacent to our new footpath.
Construction work hours and timing
Construction has started, and will be finished by the end of 2023, weather permitting.
Most activity will be carried out from 7am to 6pm Monday to Friday and Saturday from 8am to 1pm.
What to expect
Our construction will include the use of excavators, saw cutting, trucks, hand tools and light vehicles. Site offices, amenities and material storage areas will be installed inside our temporary storage compound.
There will also be an increase in noise from our machinery and equipment, and additional vehicle movements on Blackwood Avenue as equipment and materials are delivered and removed.
We will do our best to minimise the impacts of our work on the community where possible.
More information
We’ll continue to keep you updated as the project progresses. If you’d like to know more about the project, please contact our community liaison representative David Crowhurst on 1300 131 338 or email community@diona.com.auMap of Cessnock stormwater amenity improvement works
Artist impression of the work being carried out at Manning Park in Cessnock
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Construction on the stormwater visual improvements in Jesmond will be starting in early October 2023, and we have engaged Diona to complete this work on behalf of Hunter Water.
What are we building?
The works are located within the stormwater channel and banks of Dark Creek in Heaton Park, Jesmond and will involve:
- setting up a temporary site office and storage compounds
- creating a temporary access track between the temporary compound and our work area
- removing a section of concrete channel embankment
- creating a sloped embankment
- landscaping the embankment with soil beds and planting over 3000 native plants
- restoring all impacted areas
Investigation work
You may notice our workers carrying out surveying activities prior to starting construction, however our investigations won’t be noisy or require the use of machinery.Construction work hours and timing
Construction will start from early October 2023 and will be finished by early 2024, weather permitting. Most activity will be carried out from 7am to 6pm Monday to Friday and Saturday from 8am to 1pm, weather permitting. If we need to work outside of these times, we will let you know.
What to expect
There will be some noisy activities associated with our construction work including saw-cutting and rock-breaking the existing concrete channel. You may also notice an increase in vehicle movements. We will minimise the impacts of our work on the community where possible.
More information
We’ll continue to keep you updated as the project progresses. If you’d like to know more about the project, please contact our community liaison representative David Crowhurst on 1300 131 338 or email community@diona.com.auMap of Jesmond stormwater amenity improvement works
Artist impression of the work being carried out at Heaton Park, in Jesmond
Frequently asked questions
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The word amenity has two meanings: not only is it about how attractive or beautiful a place is, it also refers to desirable or useful features of a place.
These works will make these sections of our stormwater channels more beautiful – but this project is more than that.
There are several desirable features that will come out of the finished work. By making sections of our stormwater channels feel more inviting, we aim to:
- enhance the natural environment
- create revitalised spaces for the community to enjoy
- reconnect the community with their local waterways, which will – hopefully – help to change community behaviours to deter graffiti and littering
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In 2018 Hunter Water engaged with our customers to help inform the services we provide, the activities we perform and the prices our customers pay.
We discovered that our customers are willing to pay slightly more on their bills so we can deliver services that create more liveable communities and environments, specifically for the beautification of some of our open stormwater channels.
We proposed this as part of our 2020-25 IPART pricing period, which was finalised by IPART in June 2020.
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Hunter Water has worked closely with Lake Macquarie City Council, City of Newcastle, and Cessnock City Council to decide the sites for amenity improvement. The selection process prioritised recreational spaces accessible to the broader community.
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To protect and enhance the natural environment, improve the look and feel of our urban spaces, reconnect the community with their local waterways, and change community behaviours to deter graffiti and littering.
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Each site has been designed so the works will not have an impact on flooding in the catchment.
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Installing murals at our stormwater channels are a great opportunity for Hunter Water to transform previously unloved or unattractive assets into beautiful works of art and create a sense of community.
For each mural we are able to engage more meaningfully with our community by involving them in the process and supporting important messages such as the value of water or our Indigenous history.
Our stormwater channels have also previously attracted vandalism and murals can act as a great graffiti deterrent.
Review of environmental factors
These three project sites have been assessed in accordance with the environmental impact assessment requirements of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.
The following Review of Environmental Factors (REF) describe the proposed works, assess the potential construction and operation environmental impacts, and identify our safeguards to mitigate any identified impacts.
Thirsty for more information?
Contact us if you would like to learn more about our stormwater visual improvements