Walls are up as whopping water tanks take shape

Work on 2 new 10-megalitre water storage tanks at Sandy Creek has reached a series of milestones, with all 36 panels craned into place to form the site’s first tank, as part of SA Water’s ongoing investment in growing the water network in Adelaide’s north.

Located off Kalperri Road, the new tanks will increase the capacity and resilience of SA Water’s local network and enable a new supply to service growth areas from Craigmore to Roseworthy, along with western areas of the Barossa.

As part of the recent milestones, the first tank’s base slab has been poured and all 36 pre-cast concrete panels, along with 15 internal columns, have been installed.

The second tank’s concrete base slab has also now been poured and preparations are underway to install its pre-cast panels next month.

SA Water’s General Manager of Growth Amanda Lewry said more than 46,000 cubic metres of soil material has been excavated and removed from site to prepare for the construction of the two 48-metre-wide tanks.

“Each tank’s slab requires 400 cubic metres of concrete, which sees crews pouring for 8 hours continuously with the help of 2 concrete boom pumps, before a second crew works to level and smooth the concrete, as well as wetting the slab to cure – with this additional process requiring a further 10 hours,” Amanda said.

“The pre-cast panels contain up to 13 cubic metres of concrete each, with this modular design enabling a more efficient construction process to accelerate delivery of the critical water infrastructure.

“These will be the largest tanks we have built within the Greater Adelaide region for more than a decade and will collectively store 20 million litres of drinking water once they are in service.

“This extra storage capacity within our network will ensure reliable water services to more than 62,000 existing customers while enabling growth in new and expanding greenfield developments in areas like Gawler East and Roseworthy, and in time, the site will accommodate additional storage tanks to support future growth.”

Construction of the new water storage tanks and associated pipework is expected to be complete and online by summer 2026-27, before a separate project to duplicate the local water network’s existing trunk mains commences – which will enable more water to be moved from the tanks.

The project is part of the $1.5 billion investment in critical water and sewer infrastructure through the State Government’s Housing Roadmap – delivered by SA Water – to unlock capacity for new homes to be built across Adelaide’s northern and southern growth fronts.