ESG Alignment
This initiative strongly advances the Social pillar by supporting education, early skills exposure, and community engagement in a regional setting. By delivering the Water Pipeline Challenge with SA Water at Ceduna Area School, MDJV helped students understand how essential infrastructure is planned, designed and delivered — and introduced them to the wide range of career pathways behind critical water services.
The challenge reflects strong governance through transparent community engagement and responsible industry–education collaboration. By openly sharing future infrastructure plans and demonstrating decision-making trade-offs — including safety, cost, land access, cultural heritage and environmental considerations — MDJV and SA Water model accountable, ethical infrastructure delivery and build trust with future generations.
SDGs: 4 (Quality Education), 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), 17 (Partnerships for the Goals)
Together with SA Water, our McConnell Dowell SRG Global joint venture (MDJV) recently delivered a ‘Water Pipeline Challenge’ to more than 50 year 9 and 10 students at Ceduna Area School.
The aim? To show students what’s involved in designing and constructing a water pipeline, and that there’s much more than we see outside of taps and toilets. The educational activity also introduces them to the many career pathways that shape major infrastructure projects.
Students stepped into the role of apprentice project managers, planning their own pipeline alignments while navigating real-world considerations such as environment, cultural heritage, community impact, land access, safety, design and cost. Their engagement was promising, with 3 groups landing impressively close to a real-world alignment.
We also shared updates on SA Water’s upcoming water infrastructure upgrades in Ceduna, helping students connect the exercise to the work happening in their own community.