Planning is underway for the replacement of the South Yarra to St Kilda watermain (otherwise known as the M39), which supplies water to almost 100,000 homes in an area spanning from South Yarra to St Kilda and Port Melbourne.
The watermain, built during the 1890s, is one of Melbourne’s oldest operational mains and is reaching the end of its useful life.
The replacement project is critical to securing water supply for the densely populated areas and significantly reducing the risk of costly and disruptive bursts in the future.
The final alignment for the new watermain, which was selected from several options that aimed to balance the social, environmental and financial factors of the project, has relied on consultation with key agencies such as the cities of Melbourne, Stonnington, Port Phillip and VicRoads.
During the month of June the local community was invited to attend a series of information sessions about the replacement project.
Water Supply Manager Michelle Riley said the information sessions were an opportunity for the community to learn more about the project and what’s being done to manage potential consequences well before construction starts.
“While we will strive to minimise inconvenience as much as possible, there will be some unavoidable impacts, so engaging with the community early will help ensure we can address concerns to the best of our ability,” Ms Riley said.
“Importantly, we will listen to community feedback and concerns well ahead of works starting and throughout the project,” she added.
The watermain will be built in sections to minimise the amount of disruption at any one time.
The timing of the various sections of the alignment will be finalised once the contract has been awarded. Melbourne Water expects to award the contract for construction this month.