SA Water’s main break rate among lowest in Australia

A new independent report released today has confirmed the rate of water main breaks and leaks within SA Water’s network is among the lowest in Australia, despite having the longest network in the country.

According to data released in the Bureau of Meteorology’s National Performance Report 2016-17: urban water utilities, SA Water customers experienced 13.5 water main breaks per 100 kilometres of main, well below the national average of 21.1, and only bettered by four of 14 comparable water utilities across the country.

The result represents a 9.4 per cent reduction in water main incidents on the previous reporting year.

SA Water’s General Manager of Asset Operations and Delivery Mark Gobbie said the primary cause of water main breaks and leaks are weather and environment factors.

"Sodden soils drying out in extreme heat, or parched earth absorbing moisture after a downpour, cause the ground to move – especially Adelaide’s highly reactive clay soils – and place pressure on the rigid, pressurised pipes buried within them," Mark said.

"We must be realistic and acknowledge that forces of nature won’t ever let us completely prevent water main breaks and leaks from happening, but we’re committed to reducing their occurrence and impact.

"Despite the challenges of operating the longest water network in Australia, the facts confirm the reliability of SA Water’s network is very good, and improving."

SA Water’s figures for the full 2017 calendar year indicate the downward trend continued beyond the period covered in today’s report.

"We saw a 25.8 per cent reduction in leaks and breaks in 2017 compared to the previous year, which was the result of our capital investment in upgrades and innovative technologies, and the mild transition between seasons keeping soil moisture more consistent," Mark said.

"Ultimately, these figures indicate we’re making inroads to minimise the interruption and inconvenience of main breaks and leaks on our customers and the community, and that’s our measure of success."

SA Water’s ongoing water main replacement program will see $137 million invested to replace 375 kilometres of water main across South Australia between 2016 and 2020.

The utility is also trialing a $4 million smart water network in the Adelaide CBD, to help identify faults in the network before they cause disruption. This is done using real-time data from flow, pressure, water quality and leakage sensors.

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