Port and South Hedland water upgrades

Project Update - Monday 27 November 2023 Outage

To complete the next phase of work safely, we need to temporarily stop the flow water through the pipeline that supplies Port Hedland. To avoid major disruption to your water supply during the day, this work will be undertaken overnight between 8pm Monday 27 November and 6am Tuesday 28 November 2023.

During this time, you may experience a temporary water supply outage or low water pressure. Following this, you may notice water discolouration due to changes in water pressure stirring up natural sediment in the water pipes. Please be assured the water is still safe to use and will clear with normal use across the network.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your patience and understanding while we complete this work.

When is it happening?

These works will be conducted between 7am and 7pm Monday to Saturday. With Town of Port Hedland approval, there may also be scheduled work on Sundays and at night, if doing work during normal hours will impact sensitive customer’s water supply. If this is required, we will notify impacted customers in advance.

Why is this work important?

This essential work will replace aging infrastructure to help prevent leaks and breaks, minimise water supply interruptions to customers and ensure our hydrants comply with current fire management standards.

Water Corporation is installing an additional bypass section of main to the South Hedland water supply scheme which will minimise future supply interruptions to customers by providing a contingency water supply to South Hedland.

What are the impacts?

• Most water mains, hydrants and valves are located in residential verges.
• Some works will be conducted on Parker street and will require a road closure. Traffic management will be in place.
• Temporary water supply interruptions may be required as part of this work. If a temporary water supply interruption is required:
  • All attempts to avoid and reduce impact to the community will be considered before progressing work.
  • We will aim to keep water outages as short in duration as possible. 
  • Residents will be notified at least 48 hours before a planned water outage.
  • Residents are asked to draw water in advance and turn off their meter temporarily.
  • Residents may notice reduced pressure once water has been switched off. This will slowly return to normal after work is complete.
  • We will turn the water back on slowly to minimise air in the pipes and water discolouration.
• There may be an increase in noise, dust and activity. Residents may notice more vehicles and noise near their property.
• Service locating and potholing. Preliminary service locating work to identify the location of underground services such as; power, telecommunications, and water connections will involve digging small holes in the ground (potholing) and a small PVC pipe will be left in the ground for a period of time. This is done to assess all possible options for the water main renewals planned in town in the coming year.
• Our construction methods may mean unavoidable impact to properties, roads, footpaths and verges, including reticulation. Access to footpaths may be restricted and will be made safe until permanently repaired. Disturbed driveways or verges will be restored to original condition once work is complete. We will work closely with customers impacted by this.
• Traffic management will be in place where required.
• Customers may notice a tanker in the area. This will be used to collect excess water. This water is re-used where possible.