Bellinger River Turtles Breeding Facility Upgrade Project

The Hix team worked closely with the client, Taronga Zoo, to achieve the purpose-built Bellinger River Turtles Breeding Facility Upgrade Project.

The function of the facility is to breed the critically endangered turtles with the goal of rebuilding the population and releasing them back into the wild. The brief from the client was for a system that could operate efficiently with sustainable water and energy use and was easy to maintain the tanks. Initial consultation with the zookeepers and trades specialists was extensive, to ensure the purpose-built facility met all the requirements.

Two of the main project outcomes were:

• A water treatment plant for each tank to filter and provide sustainable and suitable environments for these turtles to live, breed and grow.
• An overhead rain imitation system to help breeding occur and simulate seasonal rainfall scenarios, as well as fresh clean water inlets into tanks to help them flush and clean the environment.

An interesting challenge of this project was to design the hydraulic systems to operate effectively, as well as look well-designed. Often plumbing works are underground or hidden in walls, with this system it is fully visible. We are proud of how the intricate hydraulic systems look and work together.

To address the challenge of copper and brass coming into the system, we switched to stainless steel pipework overhead. Coming down beside each tank there are valves set for full control over each individual environment. Under the slab that the tank systems sit on are intricate drainage systems. They run to a holding tank which then pumps all waste to the zoo’s treatment facility. From there the wastewater is filtered, treated and reused to water gardens throughout the zoological grounds.