A project manager has been fined $16,000 over an incident at the Mt Keira Reservoir in NSW in which a worker died and others were
placed at risk.

The NSW Industrial Relations Commission sitting in court session, found civil engineer Raymond John Jabboury, on contract to Ledonne Constructions, guilty of failing to ensure the health and safety of three project workers not in his employment.

Jabboury had pleaded not guilty.

On 25 June 1996 a fitter drowned and another narrowly escaped when a main outlet pipe they were inspecting at the site suddenly filled with water from the reservoir.

A third worker had climbed out of the pipe prior to the flooding.

Handing down his penalty, Justice Boland said the accident was entirely forseeable and Jabboury should have made it clear that the workers were not to enter the pipe.