Warren western trail closes as valve upgrade ramps up

Public access to the western section of Warren Reservoir Reserve is now temporarily closed until September, to enable SA Water crews to safely begin early on-site works, as part of an $8 million upgrade of the dam’s intake and scour valves.

During this period, visitors will be unable to access the reserve’s western trail loop, along with the northern car park and kayak launch area. The eastern nine-kilometre trail loop and amenities will however remain open.

SA Water’s General Manager of Sustainable Infrastructure Amanda Lewry said closing the western area will provide crews with the opportunity to perform important pre-construction work.

“As always, safety is our priority and by redirecting visitors to the eastern section of the reserve, we’re keeping the community safe while ensuring a safe working environment for our crews to start early work as part of the upgrade,” Amanda said.

“The work involves reinforcing one of the current access roads with gravel and rock material, which will provide additional support for a 250-tonne mobile crane as it’s transported down to the toe of the dam wall.

“We will also be constructing a 12-metre-wide concrete pad downstream of the dam, for the crane to operate from during the upgrade.

“The existing three valves will be exposed at the base of the dam as the reservoir is temporarily emptied, with our new valves carefully guided by the crane into the reservoir for installation.

“As part of this early work, we’re also extending the existing boat ramp to ensure our commercial fishers are able to access the water during the relocation of native fish.

“There’s still plenty to explore along the reserve’s eastern trails and Warren’s nearby neighbour, our South Para Reservoir Reserve, is also another beautiful spot to check out on foot or by kayak.

“I encourage the local community to drop in to our upcoming information sessions, if they’d like to learn more about the project.”

SA Water’s session will be on Saturday 25 February between 9am and 1pm at the Williamstown Town Hall.

In addition to the temporary closure of Warren’s western section, all on-water access for visitors will close from 14 March until September 2023, to enable the reservoir’s gradual emptying and ongoing construction work.

Contact:

Phone:

Email: