Mt Beauty Raw Water Offtake Project

New water infrastructure is to be built on the east bank of the Kiewa River, downstream of the Pondage spillway on Embankment Drive. This new ‘offtake’ will allow water from the Kiewa River to be pumped to the Mt Beauty treatment plant in Tawonga South before it is returned back into the community as drinking water.

The proposed works will consist of a small weir in the West Kiewa River to ensure adequate water levels during low flow periods, a fish passage structure, a pump station located in a building adjacent to the river, and a new pipeline along Embankment Drive to connect to the existing water supply pipe to the water treatment plant.

This site is the best location for uninterrupted water extraction as it is downstream of AGL operations and has guaranteed river flows. The site also has a low risk of being affected by bushfire and flooding, good access to the existing raw water main, low environmental impact during construction and is the best option for the safety of our staff.

The new offtake will lead to major benefits to the water supply of Mt Beauty and surrounding communities including the below:

• The new offtake will be closer to the water treatment plant and will replace infrastructure built in the 1970’s. By moving the pump station to a more protected and accessible area, there is lower risk of the town’s water supply being impacted by future bushfires.
• It will also allow for increased capacity in line with projected population growth and remove the historic limitations currently presented by relying on AGL’s hydro operations.
• The dangers of repairing and maintaining our current offtake pipeline will also be eliminated, particularly from the impacts of rockslides. You may remember the recent incident on West Kiewa Fire Track where part of the raw water pipeline to the water treatment plant failed. This incident led to a dangerous and costly repair.
• Currently, we occasionally experience poor raw water quality from our existing offtake points. The raw water is always treated to meet our high standards, but the new offtake will lead to a consistent quality of raw water being pumped to the treatment plant.

Since our last community newsletter in September 2019, we’ve been progressing the project despite the challenges of 2020. This includes the below:

• We have completed a geographical survey of the site and verified the area is suitable for the new infrastructure.
• Our engineers have been working on the design of the offtake including pipework and a pump station. They have determined that a weir will be needed to allow enough water to pool near the offtake during low flows. The weir wall will also include the construction of a fish ladder.
• We have been working with the relevant authorities to gain the necessary construction approvals.

View the concept plans here.

If you would like to provide feedback on this project, please complete this questionnaire. 

Or you can contact project manager Dean Jones on 1300 361 622 or info@newater.com.au.

For further information on the community engagement for this project, including newsletters, please click on the “Project documents” button below.

Click the button below to read the FAQ's about the Mt Beauty raw water offtake project.

FAQ