Barwon Water compared to Donald Trump over aqueduct approach
In what is surely a first, comparisons have been drawn between Barwon Water and US president Donald Trump.
Geelong
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Barwon Water has been accused of behaving like Donald Trump in its push to demolish a 110-year-old aqueduct because of safety fears.
David Beauchamp, of Engineering Heritage Victoria, hit out at the organisation after it announced this week that its ovoid sewer aqueduct must be completely dismantled because of an inability to safely maintain the 756m-long structure.
Mr Beauchamp, a member of the community reference group that was formed in 2021 to help guide the aqueduct’s future, instead wants the heritage-listed structure allowed to “collapse in its due time”.
“Barwon Water has taken the Trump approach of giving an extreme position, saying that to preserve the heritage we need to demolish it all, which is a very strange position, I have to say,” he said.
“They really have adopted the Trump method of making an outrageous claim and then, maybe, bargaining back from that.
“It should be left there to slowly crumble.”
Barwon Water was granted a permit by Heritage Victoria in 2020 to remove four of the 14 aqueduct spans – those directly above the river – to allow public usage of the area for the first time since 1995.
Chief executive Shaun Cumming said it had since been determined that the requirements of that permit cannot be met safely and the aqueduct’s eventual failure was unavoidable, even if structural propping was installed, which it can’t be due to the safety risk.
Barwon Water now plans to apply for a permit to dismantle the entire structure in the next 12 months, following consultation with stakeholders.
Jennifer Bantow, secretary of the Friends of the Barwon River Ovoid Sewer Aqueduct group, said the reference group was “completely taken aback” when Barwon Water outlined its position at a meeting on Wednesday night.
“Horrified, devastated, shattered were some member reactions to the announcement,” she said.
“Instead of destruction, this monumental construction should be nominated for UNESCO World Heritage listing.
“It’s another example of Geelong region’s unparalleled industrial heritage.”
The aqueduct was designed by Edward Stone and Ernest Siddeley, with construction completed in 1915.
It was decommissioned in 1992 after a new sewer pipeline was built under the Barwon River.
A year earlier it was added to the Victorian Heritage Register because of its architectural, historical, scientific and aesthetic significance.
Geelong Canoe Club president Alex Brunacci, who sits on the reference group, said once the area was deemed safe the 29km paddle from Moorabool Street Bridge to Barwon Heads Bridge could be revived.
“The new proposal from Barwon Water to remove all the structure due to the ageing condition is unfortunate, however, it is fully understandable given the current condition and rapid deterioration,” he said.
Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation chair Anie Skinner said the organisation was working with Barwon Water to rehabilitate the 66ha river plain where the aqueduct is located.
“As a member of the community reference group, we are focused on progressing joint plans to create public spaces that celebrates the biodiversity of country and our communities,” she said.
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