New water main coming for Northern Heights

SA Water will be replacing around 252 metres of water main under Mannum Road between Bigmore Road and Doyle Road in Northern Heights next week, to reduce the impact of water main breaks on residents, local businesses and the area's road users.

The upgrade is part of an ongoing program that will see $137 million invested to replace around 375,000 metres 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.

“We can't completely stop breaks and leaks from happening, because they’re often triggered by weather or soil movements, but we're fully committed to reducing their incidence and impact on our customers,” Mark said.

“The new pipes will be made of PVC, which is flexible and more resistant to the movement caused by the area’s reactive clay soils compared to the 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 the new water main will typically take place between 7 am and 5 pm from Monday to Saturday and will take around five 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 needed for the safety of road users, pedestrians and our workers.

“Residents of Mannum Road and the surrounding streets 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.

“We’re also working with nearby businesses to minimise the impact of our work on their trade.”

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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