Water Main Renewal Program Well Underway

We're continuing work on critical infrastructure projects across the Shire to keep delivering services to our community. Moree Plains Shire Council is committed to ensuring that our water and sewerage services support the liveability of our communities. This commitment was tested during the unprecedented drought and Council’s forward planning in these areas was rewarded. 

Over the past few months, we have been rolling out our water main replacement program to replace sections of pipe in areas where ageing infrastructure has been identified. The first year of the replacement program commenced in late March and is expected to be completed in coming weeks.

Council’s Acting Director of Engineering, Alan Lawrance, has explained how the essential works have been planned to ensure minimum disruption.

“Our ranking system revealed the Greenbah Road pipeline as a priority to replace as it is one of the largest and oldest lines in Moree. A high volume of breakages have been recorded in recent years therefore demanding constant and urgent repairs,” said Mr Lawrance.

“The Greenbah pipeline services a large area of Moree, with the works broken down into segments resulting in residents only experiencing a day or two of interruptions to their water service. We appreciate residents’ patience whilst these upgrades are undertaken.

“Upon reconnection of pipes, some customers may experience either slight changes in water colour or slight changes in pressure, I can reassure residence this water is safe to drink and will return to normal after a short period of time.

“This major project will see at least 3.5 km of pipelines replaced over several years throughout Moree.”

A condition report and ranking system determined which pipelines required replacement. The condition report assessed the size of the pipeline networks and identified the age and condition of the pipes based on a number of factors including if a particular water main had a frequent history of requiring repair works. 

Mayor Katrina Humphries noted that Council committed to the replacement program in its current budget and commended the essential works and the long term benefits which will be provided to the Moree community.

“This Council prides itself on forward thinking and it’s wonderful to see that our program to identify issues in the water main network is now being put into action,” said Mayor Humphries.

“I am sure our residents will agree that a day or two of interruptions to their water service is a small price to pay when the benefits include reliable delivery of higher quality water, savings to rate payers and saving our precious water!”

Affected residents will be notified of any interruption to their water supply as part of the water main replacements separately and updates will be provided on Council’s Facebook page or call Council’s Customer Service Centre on (02) 6757 3222.