North East Water has activated a temporary raw water pipeline in Mount Beauty following another landslip that has permanently damaged the existing pipeline. The temporary pipeline will ensure a secure supply of water to Mount Beauty until a new raw water pipeline can be completed in mid-late 2025.

The Independent Project Assurance Review, undertaken by specialist engineering firm SMEC, reviewed North East Water's technical assessments and projected costs for two sites - Embankment Drive (site 2) and Tailrace (site 9 multiple locations). The review concluded that Embankment Drive (site 2) provides greater water security for Mt Beauty, a lower bushfire risk, better operability and constructability, and was more cost effective.

It also concluded that adequate information was provided to perform the comprehensive review and that a reasonable process was followed to identify and shortlist site options. SMEC did, however, suggest the assessment of site 2 does not currently demonstrate that a weir is an essential element of the scope of site 2.

An alternative pump station building site could be considered on the other side of Embankment Drive further from the river, if a weir was not required. A review of the site constraints and hydraulics would be required to determine if these alternatives are feasible.

The Community and Key Stakeholder Reference Group includes:

• Mt Beauty Action Group representative/s
• Upper Kiewa Valley Community Association representative/s
• Other community group representative/s
• Residential customer representative/s
• Business customer representative/s
• Local neighbourhood representative/s (streets, neighbours of recreation reserve)
• Relevant Government Departments (Alpine Shire Council, Department of Health, Country Fire Authority, North East Catchment Management Authority, Goulburn Murray Water etc.)
• AGL

The purpose of the Community and Key Stakeholder Reference Group is to provide a platform where community representatives provide information, advice and views to North East Water on matters relating to the Mt Beauty Raw Water offtake.

Yes. We are entirely open to suggestions from the community on how the pump station building will fit into the landscape. While it is required to operate as a pump station, it does not need to look like a typical pump station.

Yes. The infrastructure will be designed to ensure the safety of swimmers and other recreational river users.

The offtake design will incorporate safety measures including approved mesh screening that is safe for both aquatic animals and humans.

No. The town’s water treatment plant is more than equipped to safely manage the treatment of drinking water sourced from within this catchment. Regular water quality monitoring and sampling has been undertaken in the area to confirm this.

This will depend greatly on the final site of the raw water offtake. North East Water will engage with the community to seek their input into the improvements.

Nearby traffic and pedestrian routes may be disrupted during periods of the construction depending on the final location. Where needed, traffic management measures will be in place for the duration of the project. Where possible, we will minimise the impacts to community events or activities.

The pump station is not likely to emit noise greater than that of the natural surroundings. As an added measure, we will incorporate the provision of noise reducing pump enclosures into the design. If required, the enclosures would be contained completely within the pump station building.

While regular maintenance of the site will be required once the project is completed, it is not considered that trucks will be using this unloading bay on a regular basis.
More frequently, a few times a week, there will be light vehicles, such as utes and cars, visiting the site to monitor the operation of the facility.

There are currently three offtakes. The primary offtake is located at the end of the AGL West Kiewa Diversion Tunnel. It is no longer operational following a recent landslip in the area. The secondary offtake in located on the west branch of the Kiewa River above the beginning of the tail race. The third offtake is out of the Simmons River. The Simmons River is a seasonal river and does not flow all of the time, so water can only be sourced from this location during flows.

The existing infrastructure will be left in place, but once the new offtake is complete, North East Water will not invest in maintaining this infrastructure. The offtakes will be run if needed until they are no longer operational and then decommissioned.