🏛️ Council

Federal government pours $2.4m into Wellington East water project

Residents of the Coorong district’s fastest-growing community are one step closer to getting mains water.

Peri Strathearn

Dec 12, 2024 — 2 min read

Wellington East residents may soon get access to mains water. Photo: Coorong District Council.

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One of the Murraylands’ fastest-growing communities is one step closer to having a plumbed drinking water supply, and hopefully at not too great a cost.

The federal government last week committed $2.4 million to a project which will connect Wellington East residents to an SA Water main.

The local council had been investigating the project for 12 months or more.

Residents were generally supportive during a consultation phase earlier this year – but they were concerned about the cost.

Coorong council CEO Bridget Mather said SA Water was currently working on a detailed design for the project.

That would allow the council to come up with an estimated cost for the whole thing, which she anticipated might be in the $3-5 million range.

The council and its ratepayers would likely have to foot part of the bill, she said, and residents’ water bills would still double to almost $700 per year when the project was finished – a figure set by the Essential Services Commission of South Australia, not the council.

But the grant would help with the construction cost.

“Any grants like this are good things, and we’ll continue to look for grants so the cost to council and residents is as small as possible,” she said.

Given that Christmas was fast approaching, she expected the council would send more information out to residents in the new year.

Another round of public consultation would follow when the design for the proposed scheme was finished – probably around Easter.

Federal Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek announced the funding last Friday as part of a $13 million investment in water-related projects across South Australia.

She described the Wellington East pipeline as a crucial project which would safeguard water resources for the community.

The project will make potable water available to the households marked teal or orange on this map, and could one day service the properties in red as Wellington East's population grows. Image: Coorong District Council.

The project will involve running a pipe from SA Water’s Tailem Bend to Meningie main, which runs along the Princes Highway, and connecting it to 212 properties on Ferry Road, George Mason Street, Kelsey Road and the cul-de-sacs which come off those streets.

At present, the Coorong council manages a scheme which pumps non-potable River Murray water to those households.

The water can be used on gardens, but not for drinking or bathing – every house needs to collect enough rainwater for that.

The scheme is also close to its maximum capacity, and needs upgrading to cope with population growth anyway.

Wellington East’s population was 291 at the last census, more than double what it was 10 years earlier, and the Coorong council has predicted it could double again in the next 15 years or so.