The water main on Old Barrenjoey Road was built in 1949 and has had multiple breaks in the past 5 years, so it needs replacing. It is one of our larger water mains, supplying over 5,000 customers.
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Renewing old water mains
We aim to prevent ongoing leaks and breaks in our pipes in this area. Our crew is upgrading old water pipes, valves and hydrants.
About this project
This project involves upgrading a 500-metre section of the water main on Old Barrenjoey Road in Avalon Beach.
We started construction in March 2025 and expect to finish in October 2025, weather and ground conditions permitting.
We will have 2 teams working simultaneously: Section 1 (night work) and Section 2 (day work). This approach allows us to finish more work during the quieter months and avoid the busy summer season.
We will start night work on Section 1 first and will notify residents when the second team begins work on Section 2. After installing the new water main, we will do the final connections, clean up and prepare the new pipe for use. Once that's done, we will pack up and restore any areas affected by our work.
The final connections and restoration work, which will also be done at night, should be less disruptive and take about 12 weeks to finish.
Most of our work will be done at night to reduce the impact on daytime traffic flows and local businesses. Our night work hours are:
- Monday nights to Friday mornings 8pm to 5am
- no work on Friday, Saturday or Sunday nights.
Some of our work needs to be done during the day in Section 2 (between Dunbar Park and Avalon Fire Station). Our standard daytime work hours are:
- weekdays 7am to 6pm
- Saturday 8am to 1pm if needed
- no work on Sundays or public holidays.
Benefits
Our work will ensure we can continue to give you clean and reliable water every day.
Impacts
Your water services may be temporarily interrupted on 4 or 5 separate nights during off-peak hours. Residents affected by these interruptions will receive a separate letter with more information.
There will be some noise from our equipment and machinery during the work. When working at night, we will finish the noisiest work by midnight, minimise vehicle movements and avoid unnecessary loud noises where possible.
Traffic changes will be in place 24/7 for the 12 to 16 weeks while we work in Section 2.
Temporary laydown areas
We will use 3 temporary storage areas to support this project:
- in the grass reserve next to the car park near Woolworths
- in the parking lane (8 spaces used) that will move progressively along Old Barrenjoey Road for Section 1
- in the grass reserve opposite Avalon Primary School.
Project timeline
October 2022
Business survey.
November 2022
Night work schedule survey.
November 2022
Investigations carried out.
March 2025
Construction started in Section 1.
Mid May 2025
Construction started in Section 2.
Late October 2025
Construction finished.
Have your say
Community drop-in sessions
We will have monthly drop-in sessions on the first Wednesday of every month between 1pm and 3pm in Dunbar Park. Our team will be there to discuss our work and answer any questions you have.
Next drop-in session
Wednesday, 04 June 2025
1pm–3pm
Dunbar Park
59 Old Barrenjoey Road, Avalon Beach NSW 2107
Project updates
03 March 2025
Construction starting Monday 10 March 2025
Our team will start working to renew the water main along Old Barrenjoey Road from Monday 10 March.
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07 January 2025
Construction is starting soon
We'll soon start renewing a section of the water main along Old Barrenjoey Road in Avalon Beach.
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14 April 2023
Additional investigations
In December 2022 and January 2023, we did some investigation work to confirm where our pipes and other services are below the ground.
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09 January 2023
Investigations continuing
In December 2022, we did some investigation work to confirm where our pipes and other services are below the ground. We finished most of the work, but we need to return for a few nights next week to finalise our investigations.
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23 November 2022
Start of investigations
Thank you to everyone who provided feedback in our night work schedule survey. We have carefully considered all feedback to finalise our night work schedule. We'll work up to 4 consecutive nights a week, from Monday night to Friday morning.
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05 November 2022
Night work schedule consultation
We'll soon begin renewing a section of the water main along Old Barrenjoey Road, Avalon Beach. We’re also working closely with the Northern Beaches Council to plan this work.
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16 October 2022
Business survey
We're renewing the water main along Old Barrenjoey Road in Avalon. We're talking to impacted businesses on Old Barrenjoey Road to understand your operations and access requirements.
Read more
Photos and videos
Timing and staging overview map
Overview map
How will the work be staged
Temporary traffic changes in Section 1
Temporary traffic changes in Section 2
FAQs
We'll use 2 types of construction methods to install the new water main – open trench and tunnelling.
Open trench: We'll install the new pipe in Section 1 using the open trench method. Each night, we'll dig a trench, lay the new water main, backfill the trench and temporarily restore the road. We'll repeat this process as we move from The Crescent to Dunbar Park. The work will be done during our night work hours and take about 22 weeks.
Tunnelling: We've found technical challenges in Section 2, including other buried services, soft ground and a lot of groundwater. We'll use a tunnelling method to install the new water main in this area. This involves digging entry and receival pits at either end, and installing the new water main by tunnelling below ground between the 2 points. The work will be done during our day work hours and should take about 12 to 16 weeks.
Section 1
We'll need to temporarily close part of Old Barrenjoey Road where we're working at night. Our friendly traffic controllers will maintain access for residents and parking on either side of our work area. General traffic will be detoured via connecting streets. At the end of each night shift, we'll restore the road so it can be used as normal during the day.
We'll need up to use up to 8 parking spaces for equipment storage next to our work area. This storage area will move along the road as we progress.
Section 2
Our work area will be very space-constrained during the tunnelling work, so:
- this section of Old Barrenjoey Road will be one-way (southbound only), with traffic directed around our work area via the car park next to Woolworths
- on-street parking on this section of Old Barrenjoey Road will be restricted for the duration of the tunnelling work
- all parking in the council car park next to Woolworths will remain free for use.
We won't be able to pack up this work area at the end of each shift. This means that these traffic changes will be in place 24/7 for the 12 to 16 weeks that we work in this area.
We're working closely with the Northern Beaches Council to plan this work. We'll temporarily restore the road to allow for continued use. When our work is finished, we'll liaise with Council to do the permanent restoration.