Melbourne Water will soon begin major upgrade works on Williamstown’s 100-year-old sewer, after recent inspections revealed significant deterioration and groundwater infiltration along its 4.4km length.
Melbourne Water will reline the existing sewer between Pasco Street in Williamstown and Scienceworks in Spotswood and rehabilitate the associated manholes along the alignment.
Melbourne Water Principal Project Manager, Nestor Ioannou, said the upgrade will ensure a reliable system for the future and ensure the local community continues to receive safe and consistent sewage services.
“Aging infrastructure poses a risk to public health and safety and must be upgraded to cater for our growing population,” Mr Ioannou said.
“Since 1906 the Williamstown Main Sewer has been removing wastewater from over 7,600 residential and industrial properties in Williamstown, Newport and Spotswood areas and transferring it to the pump station near Scienceworks, and we want to ensure it can continue to provide a reliable service for another 50 years.
“The sewer is located between eight and 15m underground. Rather than digging the entire length up, disruption will be minimised by using innovative technology to upgrade the inside of the sewer section by section.”
Sewer relining works will be carried out at night to take advantage of low sewage flows, and no impacts to water or sewerage services are anticipated during the rehabilitation works.
