Riverland’s Lock Three back in business after vital refurbishments

Overland Corner’s century-old Lock Three has reopened for access to boats, kayaks and keen river navigators on the River Murray, following the completion of important maintenance by SA Water.

Commencing in late April, the refurbishments included replacing all 12 water control valves – used to raise and lower water levels in the lock chamber – along with re-sealing the four 18-tonne hydraulic gates, concreting repairs to the lock floor and other minor works at the site.

This required draining the lock chamber’s 8-million-litre water capacity to enable safe access to the base of the 120-metre-long structure, with vessels unable to use the lock throughout the duration of the work.

The refurbishments are estimated to help speed-up the lockage process for boats by 50 percent, with it now taking around 15 minutes to pass-through the site compared to the previous 30 minute timeframe.

SA Water’s Senior Manager of River Murray Operations Garry Fyfe said the site is now back open for normal operations.

“Our crews have been busy over the past 4 months completing these upgrades as quickly and safely as possible, and it’s exciting to see this important asset back open for the community to use on their travels up and down the mighty Murray,” Garry said.

“The scope of the works was complex, with each of the four large hydraulic gates individually removed and safely relocated on the lock’s adjacent laydown area, to enable our crews to assess each gate and make any minor repairs as needed.

“With everything back in place and the two temporary cofferdams – used to prevent water flowing into the site – removed from either side of the lock chamber, we commenced a controlled refill of water over several days, before returning the site to its normal operations.

“We’d like to thank the community for their understanding over the past several months while we undertook these important works, and ensuring the lock’s continued operation into the future.”

On behalf of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, SA Water manages Locks One to Six, as well as Lock Seven at Rufus River and Lock Eight at Wangumma in New South Wales, and Lock Nine at Kulnine in Victoria. The utility also operates barrages at Goolwa, Mundoo, Boundary Creek, Ewe Island and Tauwitchere.

For more information on SA Water’s network of locks and weirs, visit sawater.com.au.

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