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Sustainable heritage restoration at Ghooli Pump Station
At a glance
The Ghooli No.6 Pump Station remediation project demonstrates how sustainable engineering can protect both heritage values and community safety. Working with Water Corporation, we transformed 70 hectares of contaminated land at this nationally significant site into a safe, accessible tourist destination. The project successfully contained 120 years of accumulated waste while preserving the site's historic importance within the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme, 350km east of Perth.
The Ghooli No.6 Pump Station remediation project demonstrates how sustainable engineering can protect both heritage values and community safety.
The challenge
Water Corporation needed to address significant contamination issues at the historic Ghooli Pump Station while maintaining its heritage values and operational capacity. The 70-hectare site contained extensive contamination including boiler ash, asbestos, hydrocarbons, and general refuse accumulated since the 1900s. This contamination restricted tourist access and impacted ongoing pipeline operations.
The site's complexity was compounded by:
- Dense native vegetation covering contaminated areas
- Uncertain waste volumes and varying thicknesses
- A major highway bisecting the site
- Multiple surrounding farming properties requiring continual access
- The need to maintain heritage values and public safety
- Strict budget constraints that required innovative solutions
Our response
Our team designed and supervised a sustainable remediation strategy that balanced heritage preservation with environmental protection. Our approach included:
- Development of innovative onsite containment cells to manage 28,000m³ of waste
- Implementation of a staged execution plan using adaptive management principles
- Design of cost-effective remediation techniques informed by lessons from previous pump station projects
- Comprehensive stakeholder engagement with residents, state and local authorities over five years
- Integration of local Aboriginal contractors with on-site training programs
- Implementation of rigorous dust control measures and asbestos management protocols
- Development of vegetation management and revegetation plans
The project design prioritised economic efficiency while maximising social and environmental outcomes. Our staged cell design and adaptive execution approach significantly reduced per-cubic-meter waste management costs compared to previous pump station remediation projects.
The impact
This project has transformed a contaminated heritage site into a valuable community asset while protecting Western Australia's historic infrastructure. The successful containment of 28,000m³ of historical waste has eliminated environmental risks and restored safe public access to this significant piece of the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme. The project's innovative approach delivered cost savings while maintaining sustainable remediation principles and creating meaningful employment and training opportunities for local Aboriginal contractors.
Beyond the immediate environmental benefits, the project maintains vital access for surrounding agricultural properties, supporting local farming communities. The restoration work demonstrates how heritage preservation and environmental protection can work hand in hand, establishing a benchmark for future heritage site remediation projects across Western Australia's historic infrastructure network. By sustainably managing both environmental and heritage concerns, the Ghooli Pump Station project preserves this historic site, allowing it to continue to serve and engage the community for generations to come.