New water main coming for Gillman

Starting next Wednesday, SA Water will replace the water main under Bedford Street, between Eastern Parade and Evans Street in Gillman, as part of a $137 million investment over four years to renew around 375,000 metres of water main across South Australia.

SA Water's General Manager of Asset Operations and Delivery Mark Gobbie said this 339 metre section of pipe had been prioritised for replacement after recent breaks and leaks.

“We can't completely stop breaks and leaks from happening, because they’re often triggered by weather or soil movements, but we're fully committed to reducing their incidence and impact on our customers,” Mark said.

“The new pipes will be made of PVC, which is flexible and more resistant to movement caused by the area’s reactive soils compared to the existing, rigid cast iron and fibro-cement pipes.”

Both the new and existing water mains have an expected lifespan of 100 years. More than half of SA Water’s 27,000 kilometre network of pipes are under 50 years old, which is relatively young by urban water industry standards.

Work to install the new water mains will take around five weeks to complete, and has been scheduled to occur overnight between 7 pm and 6 am, Sunday to Thursday to minimise the impact on Port Adelaide’s busy freight hub.

“Please be alert to changed traffic conditions in the area, which will be in place for the safety of road users, our workers and pedestrians,” Mark said.

“We’ve been working closely with businesses in the area to minimise construction impacts and maintain access for the nearby rail freight link.

“We’ll also be giving local residents advance notice of temporary water supply outages that will be required when we cut over the old and new pipes.”

For more information on when and where water mains are being renewed across the state, as well as details on existing pipes, take a look at the interactive map available at sawater.com.au.

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