More than 100m of sewer main in Bridgewater is set to be upgraded as part of SA Water’s ongoing investment in securing reliable wastewater services for the Adelaide Hills.
The existing 100mm diameter pipe transfers the local area’s sewage to SA Water’s Hahndorf Wastewater Treatment Plant.
SA Water senior manager of capital delivery Peter Seltsikas said a new pipe and gabion wall will be constructed to improve erosion protection.
“Building more support structures to mitigate the risk of erosion or land slippage and upgrading this important sewer pipe will ensure reliable services for our customers for years to come,” Seltsikas said.
“Ahead of this project, we undertook a risk assessment of our sewer infrastructure and the surrounding natural environment, which identified the creek channel had become significantly wider over time due to erosion.”
Seltsikas said if left unaddressed, it poses a substantial risk of network failure, resulting in sewage discharge to the creek.
“To safely enable the new pipe installation, we’re building a temporary cofferdam using a sandbag system to isolate the flow of water to this section of the creek and keep it dry, with a bypass in place to manage normal creek flow around the work area,” he said.
“The pipe will be laid alongside the existing sewer main – which will be isolated from our network as part of the upgrade – by conventional trench and lay methodology, using PVC-O pipe, a modern plastic material known for its strength, flexibility and durability.”
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