State government announces $59m water and sewerage plans for northern suburbs

Funding by the state government will allow SA Water to expand its infrastructure into the northern suburbs, removing a key bottleneck in new residential developments.

In response to the country’s crippling housing crisis, the state government has announced a $59m water and sewer infrastructure upgrade in the northern suburbs to ensure housing developments can be delivered.

The housing and construction industry associations raised serious concerns that without action, building would stall and developers would be forced to abandon projects due to the inability to connect water and sewerage to new homes.

Almost 1400 houses across five development sites in Angle Vale are yet to be built and without the newly announced investment, the current water and sewer networks would not be able to cope with the significant increase in demand.

Minister for Housing Nick Champion made the $59m announcement on Sunday. Picture: David Mariuz

Currently new residents in 500 completed homes at these Angle Vale developments require their sewerage to be removed from dedicated chambers by vacuum trucks almost daily, before it’s transported to the Bolivar Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The government's announcement will deliver new trunk water and sewer mains along with the upgrade of existing sewer pump stations to increase capacity.

SA Water has already initiated detailed design work and early procurement of pipes, with sewer upgrades expected to be completed by mid-2025 and water upgrades by mid-2026.

However, residents in Angle Vale who use septic tanks, will not benefit from the state government’s announcement and will not be connected to the new system.

During the announcement on Sunday, Housing Minister Nick Champion blamed the former Liberal government for the lack of infrastructure in the northern suburbs.

“I cannot believe we are in a situation where developers are seriously considering abandoning projects because our pipes can’t cope with more houses,” he said.

“This is a catastrophic failure.”

Opposition shadow treasurer Matt Cowdrey said he would wait to see the “proof in the pudding” when it comes to the government's announcement: Picture: Morgan Sette

In response, opposition treasury spokesman Matt Cowdrey said while the Liberal Party “welcomed the announcement” the “proof is in the pudding” on whether Labor would deliver on its promise.

“David Spiers and the former Liberal government lowered water bills for South Australian families and it is also important to point out that no one would have anticipated the population growth South Australia saw during the Covid-19 period where we had thousands of people moving home from interstate and overseas,” he said.

“What it seems to me is the Labor government are keen to make excuses, they need to deliver water infrastructure to allow new housing in South Australia as quickly as possible, that is their responsibility.”