Sewer upgrade works for Nairne in the Adelaide Hills

Sewer and pipeline works around a small Adelaide Hills town mean nearly six months of delays and speed limit cuts.

Sewer upgrade works have started at Nairne in the Adelaide Hills and will run for about six months. Picture: Supplied

Speed limits will be lowered amid six months of delays as wastewater and sewer upgrades start in a booming Adelaide Hills town.

The works - which run until December - will also close a parking overflow area for the local primary school for a few weeks.

A recycled water pipeline will be extended and a full sewer service will be introduced to some homes in Nairne’s township after the current system reached capacity.

Hundreds of new homes are being built or slated for construction in Nairne as infill or new housing estates.

Construction work is ongoing on two prominent sites – one in the middle of the town and the other on a former orchard along the Old Princes Highway.

And conditional approval was granted in 2022 to build 136 new homes on farmland along Jeffrey St, which would end up with houses alongside Nairne Primary School’s boundary.

Digging works for the recycled water pipe extension have started in front of the hugely popular Howard Vineyard along Balds Hill Rd.

And construction starts in August on stage one of four sewer trunk mains, running from a new pumping station at Byethorne Park, up along Woodside and Saleyard roads past the primary school, terminating at the freeway.

Sewer upgrade works have started at Nairne in the Adelaide Hills and will run for about six months. Picture: Supplied

The majority of works along the school – and Woodside and Saleyard roads – will take place at night but the school will lose some parking during construction from mid-August.

Nairne Primary principal Toni Burford said ensuring staff and student safety was the priority.

“We have been advised by the council that the majority of the works on Saleyard Road and Woodside Road will be completed at night, over two to three weeks,” she said.

“A speed restriction will be in place along Saleyard Road while the road works are undertaken. We have also been assured the work will not restrict pedestrian access to the school.”

The school’s well-used gravel overflow parking area will be accessible during stage one of the works, Ms Burford said.

“However in stage two, parents have been advised to use an alternative parking option – Byethorne Park, which is about a five-minute walk from the school.”

Contractors will drill horizontally for the new sewer main along Woodside and Saleyard roads.

Other work includes open trenches through private properties and public roads.

The pump station will require deep excavation and temporary fencing within Byethorne Park near the railway line.

“The program includes the construction of four sewer trunk mains and one recycled water rising trunk main extension, which are vital for supporting community growth and environmental compliance,” a council spokerperson said.

Sewer upgrade works have started at Nairne in the Adelaide Hills and will run for about six months. Picture: Supplied

Meanwhile, Ms Burford said the school’s governing council would revisit the issue of potential impact of the Jeffrey St housing development at its next meeting.

She said the governing council in 2022 had raised concerns about increased traffic and congestion due to limited parking and construction noise with Mount Barker Council.

The Nairne population is predicted to grow by 22.8% by 2046, to more than 7700 people, from 6332 in 2024.

Many older Nairne homes are not connected to the sewage systems and rely on trucks to annually pump wastewater from septic tanks.

Originally published as Sewer upgrade works for Nairne in the Adelaide Hills