SA Water’s renewal of the Morgan to Whyalla Pipeline is a step closer to beginning construction, following the utility’s completion of an environmental assessment.
The environmental assessment functions as part of efforts to help protect a new Threatened Ecological Community present along the pipeline’s route.
Informed by ecological field investigations between Morgan in the Riverland and Hanson, located north-east of Clare, the assessment was referred to the Commonwealth Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) in late December of 2022.
A reduced construction corridor, avoiding hollow-bearing trees where possible, and establishing conservation sites to offset the impact of clearing native vegetation are among the measures SA Water plan to adopt.
SA Water’s Senior Manager of Capital Delivery Peter Seltsikas said the modified construction methodology will deliver a better environmental outcome, while securing reliable water services for regional South Australia.
“During the past three months, we’ve been on the ground looking at the occurrence of native vegetation and bird species within the threatened community to understand practical changes we can make to limit our impact on the surrounding environment,” Seltsikas said.
“While we are limited due to our work being centred on an existing asset, we are adjusting our methods to reduce the corridor we are working within by three metres, helping minimise our construction footprint.”
While this process will add time to the project, as works will progress along the pipeline slower, SA Water is committed to ensuring it does not compromise on protecting native flora and fauna.
“We will need to remove native vegetation to enable construction of the new pipeline in some cases and this will be managed with care to ensure we can rehabilitate the sites following construction,” said Seltsikas.
To offset clearing vegetation, SA Water is contributing to the state’s Significant Environmental Benefit fund and working closely with the South Australian Department for Environment and Water to establish conservation sites of mallee vegetation to support the community’s regeneration across the region.
“As the first project that needs to consider this newly-listed ecological community, we want to set a high standard for maintaining a responsible balance between delivering essential infrastructure and preserving the natural environment.”
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