Safeguarding water security in the Latrobe Valley

Gippsland Water will safeguard water security for the Latrobe Valley over the next four years to bolster the region’s network resilience and efficiency. 

The organisation is investing $86M in an ambitious program of capital works to cater for predicted changes in climate, weather, and population growth.  

Acting managing director Simon Aquilina said strengthening the region’s water networks for current and future generations was a driving force behind the investment. 

“We are fortunate that the Latrobe Valley has a world-class water supply in Moondarra Reservoir, but we need to ensure our infrastructure is resilient to climate change, extreme weather and population growth,” Mr Aquilina said.  

“Building infrastructure that can cater to our customers’ needs by providing secure and reliable services both now and into the future is a top priority. 

“Three major projects and several smaller ones are planned for the Latrobe Valley over the next four years and span across major towns like Traralgon and Morwell, as well as smaller communities like Tyers." 

Projects in the organisation’s 2023-28 Price Submission include a new 50 megalitre storage basin at Clarkes Road, Traralgon, a 4.3km pipeline to connect the Traralgon and Tyers water networks and a secondary pipeline on the western side of Traralgon. 

“Connecting the Tyers and Traralgon water supplies will improve network efficiency and put downward pressure on customer bills by increasing connections to Traralgon water treatment plant, which is more cost effective to operate than Tyers,” Mr Aquilina said. 

“Towns like Glengarry, Toongabbie, Cowwarr and Rosedale are also connected to the Tyers system and will benefit from the new connection. 

"A secondary pipeline between the Traralgon water treatment plant and Clarkes Road Storage Basin will also be established, kicking off the initial stage of the Traralgon Morwell masterplan. 

"The new pipeline will provide system resilience for the Traralgon network and also reduce the likelihood of changes in water pressure or outages during peak demand periods and will help us manage forecast growth." 

To learn more about Gippsland Water’s 2023-2028 Price Submission visit www.gippswater.com.au/price-submission  

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