Yarra Valley Water completes work on Epping Main Sewer

Yarra Valley Water has completed work on the Epping Main Sewer. This vital piece of infrastructure will help to cater for population growth in Melbourne’s outer north and prevent sewage spills following storms.  

The project has been two years in the making and involved constructing a 2.3 kilometre gravity sewer, which will service the developing area between Craigieburn and Epping.

Yarra Valley Water General Manager of Growth Futures, Chris Brace said that the project is part of a suite of major Yarra Valley Water projects in Melbourne’s northern growth corridor.

“The Epping Main Sewer, Lockerbie Main Sewer and Kalkallo Creek Main Sewer are major infrastructure investments that Yarra Valley Water are delivering to support the transformation of the outer north from paddocks to thriving communities,” Mr Brace said.

A 42 metre-deep tunnel was constructed by Yarra Valley Water’s construction partner John Holland, using a tunnel boring machine which operated 24 hours a day.

This sewer is one of the deepest in Yarra Valley Water’s system and the ongoing nature of the tunnelling at significant depths, presented a unique challenge in maintaining the pace of works, while minimising noise disruption for residents.

Yarra Valley Water undertook background noise monitoring throughout the project and John Holland carefully planned tunnelling activities each day in order to minimise the use of above-ground machinery at night.

This substantially reduced construction noise after dark and enabled tunnelling to happen adjacent to a residential area with no noise complaints. The result was that the project remained on track and customers were not inconvenienced.

Mr Brace said that Yarra Valley Water is working hard to deliver the infrastructure that Melbourne’s growing areas will rely on for years to come.

“This area will see a huge increase in the number of people who will soon live here, and we’re working hard to ensure that water and sewerage services can keep up with demand into the future,” he said.