New water main coming for Seaton

SA Water will begin replacing around 594 metres of water main under Tapleys Hill Road, between Grange Road and Dumfries Avenue, in Seaton in coming weeks, to reduce the impact of water main breaks on its customers and the area's commuters.

The upgrade is part of an ongoing program that will see $137 million invested to replace around 375 kilometres of water mains across South Australia between 2016 and 2020.

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

“Water main incidents are typically triggered by environmental factors like weather and soil movement, so we can't completely stop them from happening, but we're fully committed to reducing their incidence and impact on our customers,” said Mark.

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

Both the old and new 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.

To minimise impact on traffic, work to install Tapleys Hill Road’s new water mains will typically take place at night between 7pm and 5am from Sunday to Thursday and is anticipated to take around six weeks to complete.

“In this instance, the new pipe will be laid using traditional trenching techniques with a temporary bitumen cap put over the trench each morning to allow traffic to flow normally during the day.

“Although one lane of traffic will be maintained in each direction while the night works take place, drivers should remain alert to signage and instructions from traffic management personnel, which will be in place for the safety of road users, pedestrians and our workers.

“Local residents should also keep an eye on their letterbox for advanced notice of any temporary water supply outages that will be needed when the old and new pipes are cut over,” said Mark.

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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