New water main coming for Hillcrest

SA Water will begin replacing around 550 metres of new water main pipes along Condamine Street and Queensborough Avenue, between Fosters Road and Shropshire Avenue in Hillcrest, next week, 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 pipe 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.

Work to install new water mains under Condamine Street and Queensborough Avenue has been timed to coincide with the school holidays to minimise the impact on students, teachers and parents.

It will typically occur between 7am and 5pm from Monday to Saturday and is anticipated to take up to three weeks to complete.

“In this instance, the new pipe will be laid using traditional trenching techniques with some temporary traffic diversions in place from time to time,” Mark said.

“Please be alert to changed traffic conditions in the area, 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 advance notice of any temporary water supply outages that will be needed when we cut over the old and new pipes.”

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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