Work is underway to install erosion protection along Cox Creek in Bridgewater. It is part of safely enabling SA Water’s upgrade of the local sewer network.
This pre-construction work will see crews install around 40 metres of gabion walls across two sections of Cox Creek along Ayr Street ahead of an upgrade of a 100-millimetre-diameter sewerage pipe later this year.
SA Water‘s Senior Manager of Capital Delivery, Peter Seltsikas, said stabilising the creek’s banks and using support structures like gabion walls is essential to preparing for the future upgrade.
“To take advantage of gravity, some of our infrastructure is often located parallel to watercourses to carry sewage from higher points in the network to our pump stations,” Seltsikas said. “One of the pipes on Ayr Street travels beneath the creek to the other side. It transfers the local neighbourhood’s sewage to our pump station and onto the local wastewater treatment plant. Before upgrading this 100-metre-long pipe, we need to stabilise the creek’s banks to mitigate the risk of erosion or land slippage while working with heavy machinery in the watercourse. The three-tiered gabion wall comprises specialised steel baskets filled with rocks. They will also play a vital role in supporting the banks through future high flow events to ensure our infrastructure remains intact.”
Construction partner supports sewer upgrade
“As part of the work, our construction partner, Fulton Hogan, will be dredging these sections of the creek. They will also break through some of the existing rock walls to enable the installation of the gabion walls. Once this is completed, the creek’s banks will be reshaped. Empty gabion baskets will be lifted into place and then carefully filled with rocks using an eight-tonne excavator. While work is underway, our project team will continue working through a design for the new pipe. This construction is expected to commence during the summer months to take advantage of dry conditions,” he said.
The current pre-construction stage of the project is expected to be completed by late June. Typical construction hours will be between 7 am and 5 pm, Monday to Friday.
Seltsikas said the community will still be able to use the nearby section of the Heysen Trail along Cox Creek.
“For the safety of our crews and the community, the short loop trail which branches off the Mylor to Mount Lofty trail will be temporarily closed during our work, with the Heysen Trail remaining open,” Seltsikas said.
“As much as possible, we’ll aim to minimise any impacts to the community during construction. It includes dust or noise caused by machinery and vehicle movement in and out of our worksite.”
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