Case Study - Royal Botanic Garden Sydney

In late 2022, the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney underwent the refurbishment of sewer and stormwater lines inside and surrounding the Botanic Centre.

Prior to the actual refurbishment process starting, the Botanic Garden needed CCTV footage to see where the pipes in the Botanic Centre were located and get a condition report to plan the later stages of the refurbishment project. The information gathered would assist with knowing which pipes they needed to cut, which ones didn’t need refurbishment, or maybe which of them could be reused in the process. 

To execute the project, CCTV footage and investigation was required, and in June 2022, works were awarded to Durkin to undertake the scope of the project, including:

• ​​Managing the process of securing CCTV footage of the pipe system

• Verifying all sewer and stormwater lines within and around the Botanic Centre. 

• Providing a condition report to help plan the later stages of the refurbishment project. 

As a new client, the Contractor’s decision to go ahead with the project was solely based on our capability to get the work done to a high standard and within the designated timeframes. In addition, we gave them a very competitive quote, and our price was within their budget. 

Limitations and Constraints

While Durkin had the capability to provide the client with the CCTV investigations they needed, the client’s timeline was tight and allowed only a couple of weeks. So, we had to accelerate things to give them the desired results. 

Although it wasn’t a straightforward project, the Durkin crews managed to give the Botanic Garden the required information within the two weeks, despite the many challenges. 

Durkin Construction Project Manager, Vince Alafaci, said that after going over the requirements and having a site meeting with the team at the Botanic Garden, some limitations and constraints were identified. 

“We went over and had an onsite meeting with them. They walked us through what they needed, and how in-depth they needed the job to be done, and there were a few difficulties regarding the actual works,” said Vince. 

“Limitations were gaining access to some sewer lines within the building due to pipe sizes, articulations in the pipe, S-Bends, and P-Bends, and some pipes being vertical”.

“It wasn’t easy to CCTV all of it because, obviously, it’s within the structure, and it’s less than ideal to do,” he added. 

Overcoming the Challenges and Making It Happen

During the refurbishment, the Botanic Garden would be tearing down the parts of the building, and therefore, they required exact information on the direction and the condition of the sewers and stormwater lines. They wanted to tap into specific areas, and the idea was to know exactly where they might need to cap it off when the renovations actually get through. 

“Due to certain limitations, it wasn’t possible for us to use the CCTV – the smaller push camera,” said Vince. 

“Our crew chose to use a Flexi Trace with sonde to verify the connections and which of the sewer feeds were connecting where, while cross-referencing it to historical “as-builts” provided by the client. These building schematics aided in the investigation for us as we had something to reference because otherwise, it would’ve been a whole blind search.

“We couldn’t get all the information, but we are able to confirm the alignment of the pipes, thanks to the building schematics and our crew’s unique approach to access the sewer and stormwater lines,” he explained.

Another Satisfied Client 

Durkin crews did a great job and the client was satisfied with the outcome. They were provided with the outputs of the investigations within the budget and designated timeframe, despite the fact that reviewing and processing of the CCTV footage was a comprehensive process. 

“It was fairly smooth sailing, and there weren’t really many problems, except the issue with getting access to the lines,” Vince said. 

“They are happy with the job we did for them and the guys who worked on site. Good communication between our site crew and the client helped the relationship progress”.

“We’re hoping it could lead to future works and upgrades required at the Sydney Botanic Gardens,” he concluded.