Australian Water Management Review Vol. 1 2014 | Page 41

Infrastructure Sustainability framework, lead to the
Cotter Dam project being the first to register for a
national Infrastructure Sustainability rating.
Weather extremes

Mark Lintermans, Associate Professor in Freshwater
Fish Ecology, University of Canberra, explained the
implications of the conservation work:
“To develop the rock reef, helping to protect the
endangered Macquarie Perch, was visionary. We will
continue to investigate how this specially-created
habitat contributes to the conservation of this
species and monitor any increase in their numbers
in Cotter Reservoir in the years ahead.”
Additionally, the Bulk Water Alliance’s involvement
in the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of
Australia (formerly AGIC) pilot program for its new

Community

The construction period saw a number of extreme
weather events, as well as temperatures ranging from
minus 10 to 42 degrees. This impacted timeframes,
budgets and workplace health and safety considerations
which needed to be managed appropriately.
The best solution, an intricate pattern of stacked
rocks and intervening spaces which were used to
create this specialist habitat, has been a fundamental
feature of the wider dam program and will continue
to assist university research and monitoring of the
fish well beyond the construction period.

from top to bottom taking nine weeks to clear the
debris and damage from the site with no recordable
injuries occurring.

Ultimately, the Cotter Dam project is about the
people of the ACT and surrounding regions.
Through a purpose to secure water for growth,
this project is important for the community, and
important to the people of Canberra. It is therefore
equally important that the project delivered more
than a dam, but engaged, and continues to engage
the community through educational and recreational
facilities like the Cotter Dam Discovery Trail.

A Fitness for Work program and education in the
effects of heat and cold was built in, with a local
company engaged to provide workers with skills
to recognise the signs of fatigue, and to look out
for each other and make reports if a fellow workers’
condition appeared to be wavering. More than
a dozen interventions were initiated by workers
recognising heat or cold related issues affecting
themselves or their colleagues.

In almost every aspect of the Cotter Dam project
there has been innovation and ingenuity to
overcome complex challenges and improve upon
existing best industry practice to establish new
standards of construction and project management.

The ACT also recorded its heaviest rainfall period
in recorded history with rain recorded on 19.6% of
days worked, with an average fall of 13mm recorded
on rain days. A major flooding event occurred in
March 2012 impacting directly on the site, causing
significant damage to some areas of construction. It is
estimated that had the dam been complete at the time
of flooding, it would have been filled twice over.
To highlight the strong focus on safety, flood
recovery was undertaken in a controlled manner

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