New water main coming for Nuriootpa

Starting 23 July, SA Water will replace a water main extending under Kaiser Stuhl Avenue, Charles Street, Auguste Street, and part of John Harris Drive in Nuriootpa, 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 448-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 pipe 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.

Subject to weather conditions, work to install the new water main will take around six weeks to complete. During construction, crews will typically be on site between 7am and 5pm, from Monday to Saturday, to minimise noise and traffic impacts on local residents.

“We will provide these customers advance notice if night works will be needed during the project, and of temporary water supply outages that will be required when we cut over the old and new pipes,” Mark said.

“We’ll also work with these residents to manage any brief restrictions to their driveway access during our works.

“For the wider community - please be alert to changed traffic conditions, which will be in place for the safety of road users, pedestrians and our workers.”

To reduce the potential for pressure-related water main leaks or breaks until the new water main can be connected to SA Water’s network, a temporary pressure reduction valve will also be installed this week near the intersection of Kaiser Stuhl Avenue and Murray Street in Nuriootpa.

This work will be carried out between 10am and 2pm on Wednesday 11 July.

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.

Contact:

Phone:

Email: