North Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
The new Adelaide Aquatic Centre, funded and built by the South Australian Government, is a state-of-the-art community facility and an accessible space for everyone. Opened in January 2026, the centre has a focus on supporting the health and wellbeing of people of all ages and diverse abilities
This project represents a substantial capital investment, with a construction value of $135 million dollars, reflecting the scale, complexity, and technical performance requirements of the facility. Key features include six pools, including a 50m 10-lane indoor pool, four 13-metre-high waterslides, a 1,000sqm gym, and over 40 interactive splash
The building is all-electric and powered by 100% renewable energy. The centre has been designed to meet stringent regulatory, safety, and operational standards expected of a modern government‑owned asset.
As part of a significant capital works programme at the facility, Dewick & Associates was engaged to author the Electrical and Mechanical O&M Manuals on behalf of the project’s M&E services contractors.
Our focus was on producing a combined M&E documentation suite that gave the facility’s operations team a clear, structured reference for the electrical and mechanical systems, covering everything from pool plant and HVAC to lighting, power distribution and associated services.
By Louise Gardner
Credit: Tom Roschi Photography
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The M&E services contractors responsible for this project delivered the electrical and mechanical installation for a major public aquatic centre, where the building services are substantially more complex than those of a standard commercial or community facility. Aquatic centres operate heavy pool plant, chemical dosing systems, high-volume ventilation, pool heating and a range of specialist electrical systems, all of which need to be documented in a way that supports both in-house facilities staff and external specialist contractors.
The electrical services were delivered by Sturdie, a national electrical and technology services contractor known for delivering complex electrical infrastructure, communications and security solutions across commercial, government and community sectors. Their experience in large-scale construction and technically demanding environments supported the successful coordination of the aquatic centre’s specialist electrical systems.
Mechanical services were delivered by Watson Fitzgerald & Associates Pty Ltd, a South Australian mechanical and HVAC contractor with extensive experience in the design, construction and maintenance of high-performance mechanical systems. Their expertise in ventilation, plant infrastructure and long-term system performance was critical to supporting the operational requirements of the facility.
The contractors engaged Dewick & Associates to produce Electrical and Mechanical O&M Manuals that would close out the M&E handover to the requirements of the building owner and operator.
Aquatic centres present a demanding documentation environment. Pool plant systems, including filtration, chemical dosing, heating and water treatment, require precise operating and maintenance instructions where a failure to follow the correct procedure can have direct implications for public health and swimmer safety.
At the same time, the mechanical scope typically encompasses large-volume HVAC designed to manage indoor pool air quality, condensation and thermal comfort across a variety of spaces with different occupancy profiles.
Documenting both the pool-specific and general building services in a coherent, navigable format, while ensuring that safety-critical operating procedures are given appropriate prominence, is central to producing a manual that the operations team will actually use and rely upon.
Dewick & Associates’ in-house technical authors produced combined Electrical and Mechanical O&M Manuals structured around the full scope of the M&E installation. Each manual was built around equipment schedules, manufacturers’ technical data, operating procedures and preventative maintenance schedules, with system descriptions written to give the operations team context before the technical data.
Safety-critical systems were clearly identified, and maintenance sequences were written to reduce the risk of incorrect intervention by the range of personnel who would be working with the systems across the facility’s operational life.
The project resulted in a comprehensive, compliant M&E documentation suite that supports the long-term operation of one of South Australia’s most significant public leisure facilities.
Key outcomes included:
The Adelaide Aquatic Centre’s operations team has a structured reference covering the electrical and mechanical installation, helping them maintain system performance and manage the planned maintenance programme efficiently. For the contractors, the deliverables close out the M&E handover to the building owner’s requirements.
For a no-obligation quote on your next aquatic or leisure facility project, contact Dewick & Associates.
The content in this case study has been informed by project documentation and client communication provided to Dewick & Associates during and following the completion of the project. Where external sources have contributed to our understanding of relevant standards or industry practice, these are listed below.
Tom Roschi Photography
Note: Some content in this case study draws on a combination of sources rather than direct quotation. Where this is the case, contributing sources are acknowledged above rather than cited inline.
Technical authoring of DIT specific format O&M Manuals enabling efficient plant operation and effective maintenance for equipment longevity, including:
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