Mirboo North Rising Main Replacement

Watch Jared, Project Engineer give a summary of the project and its benefits (video produced in July 2021).

Project background

The 4km long Mirboo North rising main is a pipe that transfers treated water from the Mirboo North water treatment plant up to the township of Mirboo North. Without it, the town would have no access to mains water. The Mirboo North rising main was over 70 years old, and in the last few years it has failed five times. It ran beside and underneath the Strzelecki Highway, from the Mirboo North water treatment plant up to the town.

Replacement of the Mirboo North water main was approved by the Essential Services Commission as a key project for delivery in Gippsland Water’s 2018-2023 price submission.

About the project

The existing pipe has reached the end of its expected life, we replaced the entire pipe on a new alignment.

What are the benefits?

Replacing the rising main has:

• Made Mirboo North’s water supply more reliable

• Reduced traffic disruptions whenever maintenance or repair work is needed

• Reduced safety hazards to Gippsland Water staff and contractors.

How was the environment be protected?

We completed ecological and Aboriginal Cultural Heritage field surveys and assessments along the proposed alignment between Little Morwell River and the Walter J Tuck Reserve. This work assisted with project planning to ensure that our construction footprint minimised any harm to native vegetation and protect cultural heritage.

The alignment and construction of the main was also based on extensive community consultation. In key locations of the project, we used underground boring rather than open trenching to minimise disturbance on surrounding vegetation and facilities.

When was it completed?

All major work was completed in July 2020.

Community fact sheet

Click this link to see our previous project fact sheet.