Work has commenced on a major water main project that will cater for population growth in Melbourne‘s outer western suburbs, which is Australia’s third-fastest growing region.
The Water for a Growing West project involves the construction of a 17-kilometre pipeline that will transfer water from St Albans Reservoir to Cowies Hill Reservoir, Tarneit.
While the existing network is performing well, an additional main is required to meet future demand.
Melbourne Water Project Manager, Peter Clark, said the $30 million project was the culmination of extensive planning with water retailer City West Water to ensure water supply matched demand as the area, particularly the City of Wyndham, grows.
“Wyndham is one of the fastest growing areas in Melbourne, and we’ve been working closely with City West Water to make sure drinking water supplies can keep pace with the region’s growth,” said Mr Clark.
“The extensive planning has also enabled us to achieve significant project savings by looking at how recycled water use could offset drinking water demand, which meant we could downsize the size of pipe required,” he added.
Spanning three councils – Brimbank, Melton, and Wyndham – the main will service 40,000 homes and is designed to transfer up to 200 million litres of water a day, the equivalent of 80 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Mr Clark thanked the three councils for their support and input into the planning process, which helped develop a pipe route and works schedule that would minimise impacts on the environment and the community.
“The water main will be built largely under existing power lines and within current and future road reserves to minimise disturbance to landowners,” said Mr Clark.
“We will continue to work closely with the councils to minimise disruption and keep the community informed throughout the project,” he added.
The new main, which is being built by John Holland, is expected to be completed in late 2015 and water services will not be affected during the construction period.
