Work to deliver the critical water and sewer infrastructure needed to support housing growth in Adelaide’s north has reached another major milestone, with the first new pipes laid to expand the local water network supplying Roseworthy.

Large underground trunk water mains are now being installed along Martin Road in Concordia, where more than 2,400 metres of pipe will be laid ahead of 500 metres to be installed along Sunnydale Avenue in Gawler East.

SA Water and its major framework partner, McConnell Dowell and Diona joint venture, are laying up to 36 metres of pipe a day, before a second crew begins work in Gawler East from around March this year.

The work is part of a record investment by the State Government to grow the water and sewer network, announced as a key initiative of the Housing Roadmap, to unlock a potential 40,000 new allotments across South Australia.

The 750-millimetre-diameter steel pipes are coated with specialised rubber to minimise the risk of corrosion, and will be installed alongside existing pipes to increase the network capacity.

The new trunk mains will connect into SA Water’s existing water network and be supplied by two new storage tanks set to be constructed in the surrounding area.

A water booster pump station planned for Concordia Road in Roseworthy is in the design stage and will be delivered as part of this phase of work, with construction anticipated to start in June 2025.

This project is happening in parallel to work underway since October last year to install more than 3,000 metres of new trunk water main underneath Angle Vale Road and Supple Road in Virginia, to increase the water network capacity of this area– with more than half of these pipes already in the ground.

As well as new water pipes in Roseworthy, works will start in 2025 for new trunk sewer mains to increase sewer network capacity and unlock future allotments in the area.

Additional projects delivering critical water and sewer infrastructure to enable housing growth will progressively commence throughout 2025, with this first investment tranche comprising $419 million of the overall four-year program.

While the utility expands its networks, SA Water has also reached a milestone in the approval of developer agreements that secure the provision of services for new allotments.

Since the Housing Roadmap in June last year, SA Water has executed 111 Development Agreement Formal Instruments (DAFIs) with developers – confirming the availability of water and sewer services to 3,949 new allotments across South Australia.

New housing developments require a DAFI between a developer and SA Water that outlines the responsibilities and obligations of both parties regarding the provision of water and sewer services to an allocated number of allotments.

Specifically in Roseworthy – which will see an increase in its water capacity as these new pipes are installed – five DAFIs have been executed, representing a total of 180 allotments.