Important maintenance upgrades to SA Water’s 358km-long Morgan to Whyalla Pipeline are now complete, improving the reliability of this vital drinking water network.
SA Water’s crews from across South Australia worked together as a team to deliver the complex project, which involved replacing the above-ground pipeline’s crossover valve used to isolate sections of the trunk main for repairs and help maintain the supply of drinking water to more than 130,000 homes and businesses who rely on it across the Barossa, Mid North, Yorke Peninsula and Eyre Peninsula regions.
The pipeline sourcing water from the Morgan Water Treatment Plant, and is among the longest drinking water pipelines in Australia.
SA Water Senior Manager of Maintenance, Colin Bell, said detailed planning was required to minimise any disruptions to customers where possible during the recent works.
“While our Morgan to Whyalla Pipeline continues to safely operate, we proactively identified the benefits that replacing the valve would provide to the infrastructure’s performance and reliability into the future, while helping to best maintain supply to our customers in the event of any unplanned repairs,” Mr Bell said.
“Acknowledging the need to temporarily interrupt water supply to Morgan to safely remove and install the new valve, our people from teams such as maintenance, engineering and field operations came together to plan how best to complete this vital work, while minimising impacts to the community.
“This included undertaking repairs overnight when water use by our customers is typically at its lowest.
“We also proactively notified the community in advance of the works being undertaken and provided practical steps to take while their supply was temporarily interrupted, including pre-filling buckets for use in their toilet cistern, and topping-up spare jugs of water for drinking or cooking.”
Mr Bell said the complex repairs saw the existing 750mm-diametre valve cut out and replaced within a matter of hours, with normal water supply restored for the township by the following morning.
“To safely undertake repairs of this size and scale in a rapid turnaround is a credit to our dedicated team working to improve services for our customers,” Mr Bell said.
“We’d also like to thank the local Morgan community for their patience while we completed repairs and restored normal water supply as quickly and safely as possible.”
