Mountain Views
Mail Covering the foothills of the Yarra Ranges & Murrindindi Shires
8 Tuesday, 27 February, 2018
Robbie rocks Rochford
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Aqueduct of hope By Kath Gannaway The upgrade of the Maroondah Aqueduct at Dixons Creek is nearing completion with Melbourne Water saying the $35 million project will mean a saving of up to 90 million litres of water every year. Work on the ageing aqueduct is in its final stages with reinstatement of the site and removal of equipment expected by the end of March. The 18-month initiative replaces a 5.7km section of the total 27km aqueduct which had become significantly deteriorated, causing frequent cracks and leaks. Previous works on the open channel were completed in 2017. Current works to finish off the final stage include constructing an access track and drainage to manage runoff. Crews are also re-seeding disturbed areas to reinstate vegetation. The new transfer system allows Melbourne Water to move around 200 million litres of water per day, the equivalent of filling 80 Olympic sized swimming pools every day, to support thousands of homes and businesses in the Yarra Ranges and outer eastern suburbs. Residents around Bleases Lane, Walters Lane, Pauls Lane and Gulf Road will have their peace, quiet and dust-free environment back once the works are finished. Melbourne Water Senior Project Manager John Sheils said he was grateful to the community for their patience during the long project. "The Maroondah Aqueduct is a critically important water supply asset allowing drinking water to be moved from the Maroondah Reservoir to Sugarloaf Reservoir," he said. "We thank the local community for their patience and support, in particular all of the land owners who have had reduced access to their land and the inconvenience of trucks and construction equipment close to their homes during
these works." "We also thank the businesses that have been impacted by these works for a significant amount of time, particularly Balgownie Estate and Yarrawood Estate," he said. While surprises are not usually welcomed by organisations undertaking multi-million dollar constructions, Mr Sheils said this project resulted in some interesting, and exciting surprises. "During excavation works for the new pipeline, a number of aboriginal artefacts were identified," he said adding that the artefacts had been independently verified and would be returned to the location where they were found, under the direction of the traditional owners, in mid-March." "It was exciting and humbling to locate these important and historic stone and slate tools at the site and we are very glad they will be able to remain there once our works are complete." Mr Sheils said the new pipeline was a significant improvement over the original open channel aqueduct. "Being able to reliably transfer water from Maroondah to Sugarloaf ensures water supply for suburbs like Yering, Coldstream, Lilydale, Wonga Park, Kangaroo Ground and Warrandyte, even as far as Doncaster and Ringwood." "The new closed pipeline saves up to 90 million litres of water every year, which used to be lost to evaporation and seepage. The closed pipe system also means we no longer have a risk of animals entering the open channel and becoming trapped and drowning." More information about the project is available at https://www.melbournewater.com.au/what-we-are-doing/worksand-projects-nearme/all-projects/maroondah-aqueduct-replacement .
Some of the massive pipes that have replaced the open aqueduct. 162980
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