Construction work was well underway on the Hunter Water project, which aims to meet the needs of the growing Tillligerry population and deliver even better environmental outcomes for decades to come.

"We're excited to be getting on with delivering this important project, which will mean we can reliably service the growing Tilligerry peninsula population until 2040," said Hunter Water's acting chief investment officer Stuart Horvath.

"The upgrade involves construction of a larger capacity plant, with modern, improved treatment processes such as a new UV disinfection system.

"This will help deliver even better environmental outcomes by improving the quality of treated wastewater that is released into waterways, as well as ensuring that we continue to meet the requirements of our Environment Protection Licence."

In addition to benefiting the community, the Tanilba Bay upgrade had also provided a helping hand to the Port Stephens koala population, with support from Hunter Water's contract partner.

"Downer and Hunter Water worked together to look for opportunities for reuse, so it was an easy decision when we found an opportunity to donate some foliage to two local organisations," said Downer project manager Chris Frost.

"Part of the project has involved removing some trees from the site to cater for the additional infrastructure. Rather than being turned into mulch, we reached out to Oakvale Wildlife Park and Port Stephens Koala Sanctuary to provide some eucalyptus robusta as koala feed.

"We're really pleased to have been able to make this donation to support these organisations and assist in providing additional habitat for our native wildlife."

The project is on track to be completed in mid-2021.