Known as the Water for a Growing West Project, the pipeline will transfer water from St Albans Reservoir to Cowies Hill Reservoir, Tarneit. The project is worth up to $A30 million.
John Holland Group, the main contractor for the project, told Trenchless Australasia that the majority of the project will be constructed via the traditional open trench method.
“However, given the constraints of working in close proximity to – and under – live rail, the project team has also chosen to undertake microtunnelling methods,” said a company spokesperson.
“This technique was chosen as it minimises impacts and disruptions to rail services.”
The water 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.
According to Melbourne Water, the area is one of Australia’s top three fastest growing regions. While the existing network is performing well, an additional main is required to meet future demand.
Construction of the pipeline is due for completion in late-2015, with water services not affected during the construction period.