Minced, your design. My. Name is Danny Forrester and, this is, build a bigger. Does. A designer travel, the world investigating. Some incredible, feats of construction, and right now I'm gonna take you inside the, most significant. For structure project, in Australia. 3,500. Workers are building one of the largest desalination, plants. In the world to. Transform seawater, into, the purest, drinking water ever engineered. There's. Really only one reasonable, option, in the world to, remove salt water and this is it exactly, the, biggest draws on earth suck, 9 million gallons of water an hour, huge. Amounts water, into. A six acre treatment. Plant nearly as big as the Yankee Stadium. Designed. To disappear, under, one of the largest living roofs on the planet, you, don't see this on most industrial, plants I think it could well be a model to the future. It's. A 55, mile long construction, project. To. Keep a city of 4 million from. Running dry. I am, down under in the gorgeous, countryside of Australia. This. Island, continent, is the same size as the contiguous United, States of America, but, has less than a tenth of the population. Eighty-five. Percent of Australians, who live along the coast because. Two-thirds. Of the country is an uninhabitable. Desert, known as the outback. Now. This, arid, terrain is, expanding. Because of a record-breaking. Drought, the. Hardest hit Melbourne. The, country's, second largest city in the southeastern, state, of Victoria where. Water reserves dropped to a low of. 27%. For. A community, who gets the majority of their water through, rain filled reservoirs, the, past 14 years must have been incredibly frightening thinking, about water security it's not really about convenience even, it's about the lifeblood of a city. There. Are cities in the world that have been abandoned, because the their natural, sources, of water have dried up so. To ensure that this country, has access to a consistent.
And Reliable source, of drinking water Australians. Are no longer relying on rainfall but. Instead they're. Gonna manufacture, their own water with, one of the single largest infrastructure. Projects, in the country's history they're. Building the, biggest desalination. Plant, in this, southern hemisphere. A. 3.5. Billion. Dollar, factory, to, remove salt from sea water, covering. Area longer. Than Rhode Island. Beginning. 65, feet below the ocean. 9, million gallons of water an hour pumped. Through 100-foot. Tall intake, pipes and a, mile long undersea, tunnel to. One of the world's most advanced, salt removal, facilities. Creating. The cleanest, drinking water ever, manufactured. Sent. Through, 52 miles of new pipeline. To. City reservoirs. It's. A big project it's huge as expensive, as large as complicated, but it's actually really significant. In terms of just changing, the city but, this plant has the capacity for what we're building of the month to, supply. About a third of Melvin's water, needs our, task here is to piece this together in. The Australian, environment yeah. In this location, with. All the unique elements of it which other marine park in the tunnel part to get the water to the plant so hopefully, it works pretty, much first time when we turn it on we'll flip a switch and, water. From the ocean will be sent to Melbourne that will be potable and drinkable absolutely. The. Plants located outside, of the city an. Hour south by helicopter. Flying. Over the Bass Coast gorgeous. Long beaches, grass. Covered sand dunes, this is not we expect, from the site of a major industrial complex. Pristine. Williamson's. Beach 2, miles long provides. Engineers, with an ideal, location, but also an, unprecedented. Design, challenge, attempting. To build the largest, industrial water plant in Australia's, history with. Practically, zero impact, to the environment. And. Nowhere. Is that challenge, more evident than aboard, the jack-up, barge a, mobile, platform the, size of four, basketball. Courts or heading to Jack a barge where, essentially, the, desalination, project, is. From. The barge workers. Are installing the second, of 210, story tall intake, pipes called.
Rises Placed. In a hole drilled, below, the sea floor the. Riser has to suck in 200, million gallons of seawater each day into. A mile-long, tunnel, to, the plant onshore without, harming, the region's, 130. Million dollar fishing, industry, all. Right there's the barge we're coming in right now. Hello, sir, I'm Danny welcome aboard Danny, welcome to the Jacob watch one run five tonight. What is happening here on the bar it's, not so we doing the completion, of the hole number two and. We bout to install the Reza. Engineers. Have created one, of the most, low-impact. Water intake systems, ever, designed. While. Most desalination plants, drawing water at high, velocities, through narrow pipes, here. Those, speeds, would suck in thousands, of creatures a day so. To prevent that engineers. Are building risers, and bigger, ten. Feet wide and a, hundred feet long, extracting. More water while, reducing, intake, speed by 75%. Slow. Enough to allow fish to, swim away crews. Just finished drilling the 80-foot deep hole for the second riser with. One of the world's largest underwater, drills. The. Massive, drill bit has been pulled out of the hole. 36. Feet tall this, specialized. Machine, digs, through, undersea, rocks, while. A hydraulic, motor rotates, the entire bit, it's. 50, ton wave pushes, it down into, the wrong boring. At nearly two feet an hour. It's amazing half the problem is getting the thing out of the ground next thing is what do you do with it when you get up here it's so damn big. See the drill bit finally out, from under the sea floor you, can kind understand, how it is they make this massive, shaft below the floor each. One of these teeth right here are, rotating. And pushing all the way to this entire rig down on that soil slowly. But surely making, this hole under, the seafloor. It's, like. 12:30. Morning. This so. We're not stopping, it's not like a like. A break time or like a collective, nap no. Arizona. Keep don't go keep sticking. Any. Rough dislodge by the drill could break loose into. The shaft endangering. The custom-built, riser made of steel and fiberglass, so. Before they begin the lift the team inspects, the shaft wall with. High-tech. Video equipment. Certainly. Has a sort of a homespun and Bob Joe doesn't have. The cameras. One. Of the glow sticks is gonna have to the roller rink and I was in fourth grade some. Weird robes couple, creative knots you can't buy that in a store again you my, chance. It, looks ugly but why for the big job. All, right so we now have a rope, entice we have the camera set on either side no. Type doc type doctor, doctor, doctor medic. I'm. Not met just RK. From. The barge the crew, guides the camera, down, into. The newly drilled shaft. As. You look at the screen right here you can see what we're looking at is actually an evacuated. Cylinder. Made, by we're, huge drill bit great, so I'm looking at the curved wall of the sort, of a subsea floor right here that's great yeah so. Far so far so good yeah yeah that's not too bad spins. Around. Yeah, it's food anime, coming up, we're. Happy with snow, some nights and Toddie there's no big obvious, cavities, and a, coral. Is seen every inch of the hole he's satisfied is happy which means we're gonna pull the cameras out and, get ready to put the final riser into the ground. Using. A 300-ton. Onboard, crane the, crew begins lowering, the 77. Tonne riser. Look. At that it's not easy you, see the position isn't right, what, he's trying to do is attach these shackles to that yellow pivot, point and that, bullet them take this piece pick, it up like this and rotate.
It Vertically is the only one crane oh, boy. Look. At that look at them he's really stuck. There. You go guys. Ready, for this but the, shackle is in place 77, times drawn the Kramer but to take this very large horizontal riser, pick it up swing, it out and off the barge and, drop it in the hole under, the sea. You can see the whole rise are now standing vertically. Yeah. Like, your son. The. Crane drops the riser into, a pipe, that. Guides it from the deck of the barge down, into, the seabed. Like, something out of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Lowers our opening up exposing. A ten-foot-wide, hole, that, goes down under, the sea floor that's about to get filled. And enormous steel Roger. The, riser tip is made of fiberglass making. It susceptible to damage with even the slightest, brush against, the steel ring. And. Even using their hands to push, it ever so slightly to line up the hole and begin lowering it down. And this is one of those amazing moments gonna lift this big and get down to a couple of guys standing. Over a very deep hole and physically. Adjusting, it by hand, dropping. At just two inches per minute it, takes another eight hours to, complete the list. Well. After a very long and intense 15-hour. Shift on, this barge the, construction, of the first stage of the desalination process, is, practically. Completed the, fourth and final riser are nearly 100, foot tall. 77. Ton steel. Straw, got, picked up put, into position dropped, into the ocean and very, soon will be permanently, buried, under, the sea floor, coming. Up. 65. Feet under. The sea floor. Breaking. Through one, of the world's biggest, undersea. Tunnels. They're gonna door through your own tunnel there cutting out your airbag. And you're talking to me basically like you just took a quaalude. Melbourne. Is one of Australia's, fastest-growing. Cities. Thousand. New residents a, week strain. Water reserves, depleted. 70%. By drought, the. City currently collects, rainwater in, ten reservoirs. It's. New 3.5, billion dollar desalination, plant, under. Construction, south of the city will. Get its water by, force. To. Suck 8 billion and a half gallons, of water a week into the plant two. Teams have to connect 65. Feet below the ocean floor. Tunnelers. Board under, a mile, of beach and sea bed while. Another team installed, to, intake pipes. Now. The two sit 14, feet apart the, tunnelling team is preparing to cut out a 12-foot. Hole into their newly built wall dig. Out into. Unsupported. Mud rock and link, up with the intake pipe. We're, now heading into the tunnel we're. About a 1 mile long walk directly. Under, a beach and under, the ocean so, at this point when are we into the ocean, we, now, yes, so. There's, there's. No bathroom huh, there. Isn't. The, ocean, and rock above pushed. Down in the tunnel with an incredible, amount of force. Workers. Line the passage, with. 4700. Concrete, segments, that keep the weight above from, crushing the tunnel so. To connect with the riser they, have to remove six of these four foot wide segments. You. Know from here you can really appreciate exactly. Why it is there, Risa porting the tunnel just, think about the hole they're about to cut it, starts, from right here twelve, feet tall and then, comes horizontally. All the way to, this edge so they're removing all, these concrete segments, creating a 12 foot long and 12, foot high hole, in, the side of this tunnel so four. Meters beyond this wall under. The earth out. There is, the riser that's, wrong good, actually drill out through, this wall and then we start the excavation, by removing the segments and then excavate across you're.
Ready To go get ready to go with. Out the structural, support at the concrete segments, that, tunnel becomes vulnerable to, a cave-in, so, before removing, them the, crew first reinforces. The tunnel with, steel rings. Here, couple reinforcements, literally. The steel reinforcements. Each, 12th foot wand'ring, composed. Of four sections has, to be installed flush, against. The tunnel walls to, provide the necessary support, but. The crews only oxygen. Supply, runs, in a plastic, sleeve along, the ceiling right. Where they have to install a ring so, to avoid cutting off their air supply workers. Cut the plastic sleeve. About, a hundred and some-odd feet under the ocean right we're in a tunnel, you're gonna door through your own tunnel they're cutting out your airbag and you're talking to me basically like you just took a quaalude. This hell reward. The bag is cut. Like. A yellow dirty ghost. With the back cut air keeps, flowing. So. The crew now reinforces. The wall by, installing 17, custom-made, steel rings in. A florists on ttle 24, foot cross beam taking. The load off the concrete segments, and transferring. It through the beams and rings down into, the ground all. Right here we go baby here it comes. My lower, intestine. Was cut off. Smiling. All right here we go here, comes. Businessman. Drives the vehicle in and, as he rolls in this piece didn't come right towards me and the goal is, to get this beep inside. The flange and line the plate up below okay, here, she comes. So you can see the beam is now inside, the flange. Little. More. We, got it we got it. We're, down we're down not. My first day with a prybar, that's. Nice, Fulton. Up. I've, been having on yet time I'm. Dying. They. Installed, the Keystone, a trapezoid. Shaped piece to, complete the circular ring, and secure. The tunnel walls so, if my side hinged up and bolted. Start the hue stone. Nice. Lines. Went up ball, holes go in tighten. It up and this entire ring is now. Take, it off. So as you see this piece going you kind of understand the process. Semicircle. By 70 circle they're creating, a secondary. Structural, system, that, will allow them to remove. The side of the tunnel and go, out under, the sea to, connect to the riser. Coming. Up. Industrial. Camouflage, so, the grass I see there will actually be the same grass living, on the list yes absolutely. Making. The plant the size of a stadium. Disappear. My, apartment, in New York City could fit into that thing without a problem, Oh baby. Very. Large industrial, complexes, don't. Really produce beautiful, architecture. Because. Of how they look we, tend to try and hide them from our eyes we. Cluster them into big industrial, zones and then we locate those industrial zones on the outskirts, of cities out, of sight out of mind but, when it comes to desalination, it's. Not that easy because, these plants require direct. Access. To salt water and here, in Australia that typically, means being, located on big, open, beautiful beaches so, the challenge then becomes. An enormous. Industrial complex, in the middle of, a gorgeous, Natural. Preserve. One. Of the world's biggest desalination, plants. Is Dubai's jebel. Ali complex. Sprawling. More than 700. Acres and consuming. 2 miles of coastline. The. Ideal, spot for Melbourne, s desalination plant, 55. Miles from the edge of the city is, williamson's. Beach home. To the endangered hooded. Clover, and. 124. Native, plant species. Architects. Had to make the world 6th, largest desalination, facility. Disappear. So, instead of a building, made of concrete and steel they found a more local, solution. Sand. Dunes. If. Someone says to you design. A building and make it disappear I think the first and most obvious decision, is just hide it from view yes and it said you guys have done something very different we've integrated it. In with the landscape and that is the, overriding. Design. Impulse. It's the, total, integration. Of buildings, and landscape, you created, new dunes that, then wrap the site and then actually, become part of the building yes exactly because, they've survived here for hundreds of years so who better than they in protect the roof of the building yes the plants, provide a wonderful. Installation. Against, the roof, being, attacked. By corrosion. The. Team is covering, the. 280,000. Square foot, desalination, building, with one of the largest, living rooms in the world. 7,000. Tons of native plants, effectively. Insulate, the building and reduce. Factory, noise with. An added, benefit. Just. Like on a dune the, vegetation. Prevents, the decay of the building underneath by. Keeping out corrosive. Salt air. So. As I look at the building instead of seeing kind of a big metal, building, with a flat, tin roof instead, I'm as you can see kind, of a green landscape, that, revises, up frames. The building and then creates actually, a living vegetative, surface on the top of it exactly wrong and not I need that. The. Angles, on the roof actually mimic the dunes around as well, as the vegetation.
On The roof is the same vegetation, that you're finding in the area so we're keeping it all within. The same context of lived environment. Workers. First erect, an 85, foot high structural, frame made, of galvanized, steel then. Cover it with four, hundred and thirty-eight roof panels, each, weighing 8 tons. Right, now they're, building and installing the, highest panel on the entire, project Anthony. Tell, me about coming about the team here what's going on here what do we do well. Basically the, boys are about to make a typical. Panel there's. 438. Of these to go, up on this building, alone. Covering. 2700. Square feet of roof each day the, crews earned a special. Nickname we. Call the shadow cast is because every, time we put a panel up a bit more shadow gets passed divert and have. A bit of shy to work, on them without any further ado let's cast some shadows brought, up let's. Go right, out this guy Boyd, bolts. On this side. Shadow. Catches any favors right now am i oh these Australian bolts, you got like specific, way to do this. You. Know how there's a saying that like that I must relieve you flush the toilet the water goes the other way cuz the hemisphere I think, there's the same thing with the bolts it's pushed differently here t-boz, going in t-bar. Yeah. I didn't understand word you said blue mana what. Do they say. Each. Panel, is made of three layers the upper, layer, 450. Square feet of a waterproof plywood, keeps. Out the moist salt air under. It is a three-inch. Layer of fiberglass thermal, insulation to, protect against summer temperatures, as hot as a hundred, and ten degrees and. The bottom layer almost. Three thousand pounds of organic soundproofing. Made, from locally grown compress, straw it, absorbs, sound waves cutting, noise from. 90, decibels, down, to 40, as, quiet, as a. Library. And. If you look out here you can actually see what, exactly, it is that makes, this plant so silent, it's hay in, fresh straw bail squeezed, together to. Create this about two inch thick layer of sonic insulation. -. Okay. So. First we deal with Sonic installation, now, we're going with thermal enclosure. Okay. Hold. This in and, push. It's, like insulation bowling. And. Done. So. The panel that we built has now been moved into position under. The crane and ready so the lift come on crews. Now lift the panel off, 85. Feet to the highest point, on the building. All. Right the piece is heading up we're not gonna run to the top of the roof and meet it for installation. And. We're off okay. They pitch each panel, and angles, up to 15, degrees to mimic the slopes of the surrounding, dunes. Every. Single. Inch of this entire surface is gonna be a wild, vegetative. Plane, like. That thing coming in my. Apartment, in New York City could fit under that thing without a problem, all right so you're gonna see right now it doesn't hold miss tagline I'm holding the corner that corresponds, to that corner so by holding this line we're actually gonna rotate the piece I've, been very large, tight look. At this thing, it really is like planting a spaceship. Beautiful. My guess every one of the rightful here shirani on my gown sweetie. Now treads coming down check this out it's coming down right, there. All. Right I'm podgy foggy. We, got one corner pinned up real tight which means we can use it like a hinge and, then bend the panel down to get into shape and then both all four corners up. With. The new panel, install the crane removes, the one and a half ton lifting frame the, enormous lifting frame is now separated, from the roof and beginning, us ride home leaving.
In Its wake a massive. Piece of roof panel which we took from scratch, put it into place at an angle no less and casted, an, enormous, shadow over, this amazing building Ron, did you cast a shadow yes always, constant, shadow Danny. Up. Next. Lifting. The most delicate, piece of equipment, on. The entire, project. But. First your, trivia question, how, many desalination. Plants, operate around the, world the. Answer after, the break. Your. Trivia, answer, there, are 15,000. Desalination, plants. Worldwide all, together producing. 1% of the world's water. Australia. Is an island, continent, and as such they, have a really complicated relationship with water on. The one hand they, got tons of it on, the other practically. None of it is actually, drinkable. With. Almost 40,000. Miles of coastline, Australia. Has more access to ocean, than, any other country. Problem. Is they can't drink. Any of it because, it's three and a half percent salt. So, to remove it null burns new desalination, plant, is installing some, of the world's most advanced, water technology. I guess, the issue is unlike filtering, out a muscle, or allergy, or particulates. The. Salt is incredibly. Small yes. Very. Very smaller, we, speaking New Balance microns, are we're, not filtering out objects. Were filtering out molecules. The. Plant first send seawater, through, two banks of filters, removing. Algae, and other, particulates, but. The, salt is dissolved in, the water so. It's not easily removed, to. Eliminate, it pumps. Force the seawater under, high pressure through, a series of semi. Permeable membranes, they. Let water through, but. Keep the salt out, making. The water. 99.8%. Salt. Free the, process, is called reverse. Osmosis. This, is a very very significant, technology I mean you're not adding chemicals. To do this it's, just pressure yeah they almost crush, that salt water rushing, that would and you're forcing it through that. Semi improvement. To. Produce over four million gallons of water each our crews. Are installing fifty. One of the largest reverse, osmosis racks, for RO racks. On the planet, 30. Feet tall steel structures, each, containing, 1500. Membranes, today. They're, installing the 30th, brand. So. Michael how heavy is the wrath direct, 72, ton 76. Honey biggest, intricate part about it all the way it is centralized, into the middle of the bones which, is not a good thing it's kind of like if you're carrying a very very tall things, and beer glass it's. Easy to build this that's great now. While each rack is as large as a three-story, building the, membranes, inside are, just four hundred, thousandths, of an inch thick made, of an extremely, brittle polymer. So. To move it just 200. Yards across the plan, the. Crew uses one of the world's most precise, mobile, jacks, the. Skate rack it, can deadlift up to 100, tons and carefully. Drives forward at a steady, six, feet a minute. So this moment right here that is actually a crucial step official stick that's correct and the entire process the whole lifting. Moving, leveling, off all, happens, so happen, for this repeater on our control with shockingly, fewer, number. Of buttons that are on my, television, remote control, and it's my ball fine for that matter yes. So. First step check it out first if Jack it up, so. What Michael is about to do right now as he flips this switch you can apply pressure you see here right now the, jacks will start picking up these 72, tons and right about now start. Seeing those jacks push up. Is all we're doing this baby. Okay. We're moving. Here we go here we go. To, keep its fragile load in balance. All 32, wheels have to roll in, unison. 1/2. Inch difference in elevation on, the factory floor forces. The right wheel out of the line you. Can see the alignment, of the weight when a bit to the left so much so that the wheels literally, lost contact, with the ground. Coming. Coming into the plan on to the flat slab yeah, the steering it a little bit off yeah, what, we're trying to do is just realign, it's a little square again up, again. Michael, inches, the right side of the rack forward, until. The wheel touches, the ground. Right. It's coming down check this out it's coming down. I hate, everyone my foot. It. Takes 90 minutes to drive the length of two, football fields, to. Install the rack michael. Has to line up the footings with 60, bolt holes. Focus, up baby. All right so this basically, is the most hard-core heaviest, and complicated, parallel parking jog you've ever seen these, aren't even wide bolt holes I mean look at my pinky finger, look.
At Just my pinky fits through these things he's got four of these on each, piece of steel three, on this side three, on that side very. Very. Tight fit. One. Footing. Doesn't. Line up. Still off you can see right here my. Centerline is about an inch and a half. I got annoyed trying to parallel park my car by, now I would have thrown that remote as somebody, after. 30. Attempts, Michael, finally, sinks the rack to the base. Relying, on. All right start, building up. All. 15, pads are lined up all 60 bolt holes look good this Rack is in its final order completely, each pie is different, each one gives you its iron little, challenges, and just one certainly have this challenge. Thank it's really well done all right coming. Up a, 55-mile. Long extension, cord to power up Australia's. Biggest water, factory a long time. Creating. Drinking, water at a desalination, plant, is. 18. Times more expensive than, collecting, water from rain-fed, reservoirs, and. The biggest reason. Electricity. Removing. Salt from sea water, requires. Massive, amounts of energy Mel. Burns new desalination, plant, will use as much power each day, as a city. Of a hundred and twenty five thousand. People we. Talk about a project this big you're not talking about one, or two crews of electricians no. Definitely. Not you running 450. To 500, electricians, on-site we've got approximately, 2 million mayonnaise, of electrical, work to complete before, we can come for work most. Desalination, plants. Build, big power plants, or right on-site but, a long one of Australia's, most pristine. Beaches a, huge, power plant, is not, an option, instead. They're. Plugging into the largest electrical grid in the region, 55, miles away near Melbourne with, one of the world's, longest, underground. Extension. Cords, so. When you look across the gorgeous, landscape, rush you won't see holes, you won't see power lines this trick over 50-plus, miles of cable completely. Hidden underground that's not all, you'll see is cross, drawing with. The cable, was buried so the whole idea is not to get the plant what it needs to get its electricity but, do it with, the little impact as possible to the landscape that's. Rather, than bury a. 220,000. Volt power line in the soil where, groundwater, could short it out crews. Bury plastic, tubing and then thread the cable through it the. Plastic, keeps moisture away from the power line, this. Is fancy stuff yeah, you, don't want to just yank it tear the cable no very expensive cable and, there are multiple, lengths, of cable along. The rock yes you. Are being incredibly. Careful, with, how you move this run of course yes very good, there's been a lot of time worrying about this cable. The. Tubing is a half-inch thick weighing. Almost 8 tons. Workers. First laid into position, and then cover it with soil they, then threaded almost mile-long cable, segments through it from. The front, they pulled, the cable with the winch system and from, the back a machine, called a caterpillar pusher. Arrives, the cable forward it's actually, a very large. Multivalent. Coordinated. Effort as it is to pull with the right amount of pressure squeeze. The right amount of force and do so along, a very long length in the. Cable, is now halfway through the 4000.
Foot Long tube to reduce, strain they, double, their effort by engaging a second, caterpillar, pusher. When I engages, with his torque wrench these teeth will then come together and, squeeze the cable and assisted, along the left right exactly. There we go crank, it up David the torque wrench time he's. Here as I as I crank this torque wrench unless, these guys these. Calipers are coming in they're getting old tighter. Oh. There. We go heard the click that means this pusher, is engaged collaborating. With that pusher, ensuring. The winch at the very top of this table is, not exceeding, or pulling too hard. Each. Additional, foot of cable, increases. Friction between, the power line and the plastic cover. If. Cruz did nothing, the friction, could snap, the cable cuz. I guess every, single inch that, this thing travels inside to a conduit as a moment mister the drag. Moriki. To. Prevent the cable from tearing, workers, apply a, continuous. Layer of a universal. Stress reducer, oh yeah, that's nice look at that that, is just a nice, this. Is a soapy, it's. It's a really. I. Can call something. All right so let's get this guy going here applying. The lubricant, reduces. Friction by, 10%. Splendid. Move you don't want to be sorry to move right as, funny as it may seem there's. Details pretty. Critical remember, that seen any ghosts. I. Watch. A lot of TV okay. Now, I made like I'm serving I'm doing but the truth is I'm actually going a long way to, minimizing, friction and, reducing. The force on this cable but keep in mind this cable leads to travel literally. For over 50, miles looser electricity, runs, in the power station, to the desal plant coming. Up. Tunneling. Through 360. Feet of month and we, are cooking to, complete one of the longest, pipelines, in australia. Melbourne. Reservoirs. Are, 52. Miles away from, the new desalination, plant, that'll, make 1/3, of the city's drinking water so.
To Transport, more than 3 billion gallons, of water each month. Crews, are laying miles of pipeline, across, some of Australia's most, complicated, arraigned, including. Three rivers and thirty-eight, roads, until. Now they've dug and covered the pipe in, 10-foot, deep trenches. 20. Miles from the reservoirs, they've, hit an obstacle a. 250. Foot wide canal. Essential. To the local farming community. Under. A typical, set of circumstances, to lay a water, pipeline you just scrape, the earth have, an open cut and lay your plight fun in this case there's, a set of channels up there that it will acquire for. This area and so while you're building this pipeline to get the Melvin you, can't disturb it it's row so, if you can't go through it I guess. The answer you, know you go under it correct. This, area, has, some of Australia's, softest. Earth great. For farming in agriculture, but. Not so good for digging a tunnel, shree. Headed. Then. The. Team is using a tunnel-boring machine, or TBM they, must hit a target. 360. Feet ahead without, drifting, more than a quarter inch up or, down, now. When boring through solid rock the, TBM, is fully supported, a driver, makes just minor, adjustments. To stay on course but. In this soft earth the, 100, ton TBM is constantly. Sinking, so to stay on track the driver has to constantly, steer it through the mud. After. Digging nearly, three hundred and fifty feet the, TBM, is just, ten feet away from the end of the tunnel so let's. Fire up you got you have your you, have your forces here you have your your vectors and your headings there, you gotta love when it says start stop and the, title is cutting wheel that's it. And. So when you see that conveyor belt going, that means the cutter head isn't minding the law. The, 12-ton cutterhead tips, the TBM down into, the mud Ravi, has to steer it up to stay on course. You're, really driving the. Every time I see. Because. They cancel. To. Make the breakthrough Robbie has to pass through a steel ring just, a half inch wider than the TBM. You're a few millimeters below where you want to be. This is that part of the marathon where. Everyone's ago copy, that giving you bits of juice and gay the Reg they're like don't stop don't stop. He's. Like Steve Prefontaine he's, hit his kick he's going that last bit of the race we're gonna back home fat the pipe and he is gonna bring this thing through the bullseye the end of the road oh, good, all good forget now less. Than a foot of Earth separates, a TBM from, the breakthrough to. Run the car cruising. Over to the other side of the tunnel to actually see it bust through mi'raj hate it be appreciated. Come on. Their. Breakthrough this. Way. Robbie, is right behind, the steel plate. Everyone. Get clear it's, bad to go through they aren't ready to go alright. Man. Alright. Here, it comes you, can see about this company right now Robbie is the Australian kool-aid man is coming through the wall check, this out, you see the swirls breaking a part of town come on Robbie. Belching. And burping, is like a beast. The entire, face is starting to buckle right now it's, like something out of a science fiction would be the entire circle, is starting to bounce a little bit push, there's smoke coming out water, oh. Here. Comes here comes the Cubs up top it's coming through. Just. Gave out that was incredible. Probably. Right to the edge putting all the pressure on the, face finally, opens up all, the earth comes crashing, down and, behind me. There. It is. So. After.
360. Feet 120, metres directly. Under, a stream, he, made it through had a perfect, bridge through more than a matter of millimeters. Well, done sir thank you really congratulations, in. Just eight months time the. Largest desalination plant. In the southern hemisphere will, be ready to provide water to 1, million. Melbourne, use whether. It rains or not I think, a lot of people, don't realize that water is, not, a plentiful, resource, that will forever be in abundance, Victorians. Know that only too well and so the idea of having a consistent, large. Amount, of drinking water and, are there for the entire community, that's. A huge development yes I think the the children of the future have an obligation to, understand, about our use of water and what, we need to do to supplement naturally-occurring. Resources. So, this will be a model, for the future I believe we, need to guarantee Victoria's. Water future, and we, believe this plant will do that the. Issue of climate change is an incredibly, complicated, and, global, issue but. For Australia, the statistics, are clear, over. Time their temperatures will rise and over, time the rainfall, will decrease so, whether they like it or not the, issue of water security is a part of Australia's, future and, part, of why I think the desalination plant, is so fascinating. Is that it's attempting to address this issue in a radical new way on, the one hand it's got the infrastructure, giving, an entire region exactly. What it needs drinking, water from, the other hand it's how they're doing it transforming. An industrial, complex into a piece of sustainable. Architecture.
2018-06-18