Army engineers tap into new water supply for PNGDF

Most of us consider a clean, accessible and infinite supply of water a normal part of our day, if not a basic human right. A turn of the tap and clean, safe drinking water is supplied.

CAPTION: Australian Army soldiers WO2 Bryan Griff and WO2 Paul Thornhill gather with contractors from Reeves Envico and Hebou to discuss the progress of the PNGAus Partnerships’ Potable Water Infrastructure Works at the PNG Defence Force’s Goldie River Training Depot, PNG. Story by Major Evita Ryan. Photos by Corporal Joshua Thomas.

For Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) personnel who work and train at the Goldie River Training Depot, and their family members who live in the married quarters, access to a reliable clean water supply and sewerage system is the result of a multi-million-dollar water and sewerage infrastructure project.

Works supervisor from 12th Chief Engineer Works (12CEW) in Brisbane, Warrant Officer Class Two (WO2) Paul Thornhill, is working alongside project engineers and fellow works supervisors to oversee the construction works for the PNGAus Partnerships’ Potable Water Infrastructure Works at the depot.

“Right now there is no reliable water supply for the depot and the underground services are asbestos-cement and have collapsed in certain places, so they leak,” WO2 Thornhill said.

CAPTION: WO2 Paul Thornhill watches as Kenny Hetape, of the PNG Defence Force, adjusts the aging infrastructure used to source water from Goldie River for the Goldie River Training Depot in PNG.

“The residents have a 60-year-old water system, which is in a poor state of repair after exceeding its design and service life.”

Before the works began, a failing water pump station pumped water up from the Goldie River to a staging tank where the water was chlorinated and stored. The water was then gravity fed to the depot facility and the community, but depended on adequate water levels of the river.

With soldiers and family members bathing and washing their clothes in the river, and, in some instances using buckets of water to flush toilets, works supervisor WO2 Bryan Griff, of 12CEW, said the existing system was no longer fit for purpose.

“The soldiers and families didn’t have any water for two years because the river level was too low,” WO2 Griff said.

CAPTION: WO2 Paul Thornhill and WO2 Bryan Griff inspect the foundations of a water tank under construction as part of the PNGAus Partnerships’ Potable Water Infrastructure Works.

In late 2022, WO2 Griff deployed to PNG to oversee phase one of the works, drilling bores to generate a reliable water source.

“To meet the projected population for 2036 in the design consultancy assessment, we had to find an appropriate bore yield through multiple groundwater sources,” WO2 Griff said.

“The depot now has four working bores along the river and three additional bores that have been drilled in reserve.

“We wanted to provide the PNGDF with a robust water supply system that was low maintenance and standalone, with zero brown-out options, so we designed a hybrid system run off solar with mains supply as a back-up.”

CAPTION: WO2 Paul Thornhill and WO2 Bryan Griff stand in front of a water tank that was installed as part of the PNGAus Partnerships’ Potable Water Infrastructure Works and hand-painted by local school children.

School children and members of the local community were invited to beautify the exterior of the one-mega-litre staging tank installed at the back of the depot’s officers’ mess with colourful handprints before the next phase of works proceed.

“Two more phases are in the pipeline at the moment, including a sewerage network,” WO2 Thornhill said.

“By mid-2025 we’ll have installed a water tap next to the 120-plus houses in the married quarters and at the community school.

“Fire hydrants will also be installed in both the operations and accommodation precincts.

WO2 Griff added: “We’re not hydraulic engineers, but we’re relied upon for our autonomy during our three-month deployments and being able to achieve the end goal, which includes supporting our Pacific partners in construction certification and approval processes.”

CAPTION: WO2 Paul Thornhill updates a sign to inform residents, locals and visitors to the PNG Defence Force’s Goldie River Training Depot about PNGAus Partnerships’ Potable Water Infrastructure Works at the depot.

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