Labor government announce $6.7m investment to fix southern suburbs sewage smell

A multimillion-dollar piece of infrastructure will be funded by the state government in an effort to eliminate intermittent smells of sewage from Adelaide’s south.

An ongoing sewage smell in Adelaide’s south will soon be flushed out by the state government, who will invest $6.7m into the construction of an odour control unit to improve the local sewer network.

The unit will connect into the sewer network through an existing pipe near Timothy Road, in Morphett Vale, where it will then extract and treat the odorous gases.

Housing minister Nick Champion said the installation of the new unit was “a great example of SA Water investing in a fit-for-purpose solution”.

“Our sewers play an essential role in protecting public health and it’s important every effort is made to ensure operation of this infrastructure happens as seamlessly as possible without impacting the local community,” Mr Champion said.

“This is just one of the many projects set to be delivered as part of SA Water’s record $3.3 billion capital program aimed at improving their services for South Australians.”

After feedback from residents, SA Water tracked the movement of odour within a targeted area of Morphett Vale and pinpointed the source responsible for transferring large volumes of sewage.

The unit will be strategically built on a section of land between Timothy Rd and Yeldham Dr due to its proximity to the pipe responsible, and its ability to ventilate upstream and downstream sections. It’s set to eliminate up to 99.9 per cent of odour.

The odour control unit is designed to pull the gases out using two large extraction fans and treat them through a combination of a biofilter and activated carbon filters. Once treated, odourless air will then be released from the unit by a 15-metre tall vent stack.

Katrine Hildyard MP said she was looking forward to “stopping the stench”.

“The new odour control unit is welcome news for Morphett Vale community members,” she said. “I am really pleased that this problem is being fixed.

“Many local community members and visitors to our area know how off-putting this smell can be.”

Design works for the new odour control unit is now underway, with construction expected to commence early next year.