Community shapes expanded recreational access at Warren and South Para

Residents and businesses in the Barossa Valley have had their voices heard on the exciting range of recreational activities soon to be available at South Para and Warren reservoir reserves, as efforts continue to open the areas for public access by the end of the year.

Held at Williamstown’s Soldiers Memorial Hall, more than 70 people attended sessions in both May and September to hear first hand about opening the areas for new or expanded recreational activities.

SA Water’s General Manager of Customers, Strategy and Innovation Anna Jackson said as expected, community members provided valuable feedback.

“The drop-in sessions offered a chance to hear from the community on their priorities on expanded recreational access, and we’re pleased that through a recent second round of sessions, we could demonstrate how this shaped the activities being available at these sites within months,” Anna said.

“We’ve had a positive response to expanding activities like bushwalking, bike riding and kayaking, and we’ll be preparing the reservoirs for these activities over the coming months by creating more car parking, picnic and other visitor amenities at South Para and improved signage, fencing and water access at Warren.

“There is clear interest for more natural spaces for people to explore, and plans are also underway to create a trail network connecting the reservoirs to nearby conservation parks, forestry land and Williamstown.

“We thank everyone who took the time to attend our sessions, and we look forward to continue working with the Barossa community on this exciting initiative into the future.”

The State Government earlier this year opened Myponga Reservoir for recreational access, with the initiative already delivering economic and tourism benefits to the town and wider Fleurieu Peninsula.

“We hope that the introduction or expansion of available recreational activities on offer at South Para and Warren reservoirs will be a welcome addition to the flourishing tourism in the Barossa Valley,” Anna said.

With a combined storage capacity of more than 49 billion litres, the South Para and Warren reservoirs are vital in delivering water to thousands of customers in the Barossa Valley and northern Adelaide region.

For more information on recreational access at reservoirs, people can visit reservoirs.sa.gov.au.

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