Melbourne Water plans to spend AU$22 million on sewer rehabilitation projects in the southwest region of the city.
The utility company’s plan will extend the service lives of the sewers by 50 years.
Melbourne Water has successfully completed plumbing repair at Merri Creek. The company used trenchless technology to rehabilitate the aging sewer. The same technology will be used to rehabilitate the Brighton Main Sewer and the Williamstown Main Sewer.
Work on the Williamstown project is already underway, and should be completed sometime in 2018.
Manhole repairs are part of the project, which will use sliplining to reline the manholes. The company is targeting manholes between Pasco St. and Scienceworks in Spotswood.
The goal of the project is to improve public health and operations. It will also provide local residents with a more reliable sewer system. The rehabilitation efforts will eliminate odors, extend the life of the sewer by five decades, and prevent future blockages. Once completed, the risk of sewage spills due to dry weather will be much lower.
Most of the work will take place around existing manholes. Melbourne Water plans to use trenchless technology to rehabilitate the entire 4.4-kilometer stretch of sewer.
The company plans to set up multiple sites to move the project along quickly. Work on the manholes will continue through the middle of next year. Restoration work will start once the project is complete.
The Brighton project will rehabilitate a sewer that has been serving the community since 1907. This project will also extend the life of the sewer by 50 years.
Thus far, the utility has plans to reline 4.6km of piping between Brighton and Hampton. The project is still in the design phase, but the utility completed investigation works last month. This phase of the project included traffic management and complete inspections of manhole covers on North Road, Orlando Street and Hampton.
The Brighton project will also include improvements for monitoring and flow control. Manhole repairs will also be carried out. Trenchless technology will allow the utility to carry out these important projects without inconveniencing local residents.
Trenchless technology allows the utility to make repairs without having to dig up the street and cause traffic delays. It also allows the company to avoid having to completely replace the sewer line.
To complete the repairs, smaller holes will be drilled, and pipe lining will be injected using special equipment. The lining serves as a new pipe, filling in cracks and damage.
Work on the projects is estimated to begin in March 2018 and is expected to take a year to complete.
The utility has several other projects in the works, several of which the public can share their opinion on. The Healthy Waterways Strategy, M41 Renewal Project and Dandenong Catchment are just a few of the projects in the pipeline.
The company is also working on the Air Treatment Facility at the Hoppers Crossing Pump Station. The rehabilitation project here will extend the life of the sewer and help serve the region’s rising population.
