Key project summary

  • We’re replacing an 800m section of ageing water main along Hawdon St in Shepparton, between Knight St and Balaclava Rd
  • The main was constructed in 1961 and has a recent history of failures
  • We’re carrying out main works during school holidays to minimise impacts
  • Work will be split into three phases, during September 2022, January and April 2023 school holidays
  • We’ll let customers know if their water supply will be affected

Most recent project update

21 April 2023

We’re undertaking some critical works along Hawdon Street this weekend as part of our major water main replacement project, which means we need to close a small section of the road between Annerley Ave and Balaclava Rd.

Both northbound lanes will be closed from Saturday morning until late Sunday afternoon (April 22 to 23), with detours in place.

We’ve planned these works to be carried out during lower traffic volume times to minimise motorist disruptions as much as possible.

Works will also only be carried out during the day.

We’ll make sure residents in the immediate work zone can still access their driveways, and there’ll be no interruption to water supply during these works.

We’re really sorry for the inconvenience – thanks for your patience while we complete the final stage of the water main upgrade project.

Access to businesses will remain open during the works.

An image showing the works zone is below.

20 March 2023

The third and final stage of the Hawdon Street water main replacement project will begin in late March.

Works are expected to run from 29 March until about 12 May, with the majority of construction happening during the school holidays to reduce the impact on residents and motorists.

This stage involves slip lining a new HDPE 355mm water main inside the existing concrete water main – running for about 800m. This main will continue to supply high volume water users along Hawdon St, while residents are now connected to a newly constructed 180mm water main designed to improve supply reliability.

Two crews will be working to install the pipe along Hawdon St from Knight St to Balaclava Rd, which will ensure the works are completed as quickly as possible.

There will be no impact to services during this stage of works, but if residents experience any issues with their water supply, we encourage them to call us any time on 1800 454 500.

We thank everyone for their patience during the project.

Update - 20 February 2023

Works are now complete on the second stage of the Hawdon St water main replacement project, with another 300m of new water main successfully installed. 

The new 180mm main was installed between Rea St and Balaclava Rd, with about 30 customers connected in for a more reliable service. 

The remaining section of water main construction and relining of the existing main to continue supplying high-volume customers will be carried out in over the Easter school holidays.

GVW thanks motorists for their patience while these important upgrades are carried out. 

Update - 21 January 2023

Works are continuing to progress well in the second of three phases to replace the ageing water main along Hawdon St. We've installed several new sections of pipe between Rea St and Balaclava Rd, as well as carrying out pressure testing. 

Works will continue next week and into the week after to finalise this section of the project - we anticipate this wrapping up on Friday, February 10.

With school resuming on Monday, works will only be occurring between 9:30am and 2.30pm to lessen any impact on the traffic during peak periods. 

We're really sorry for any inconvenience - we thank residents along Hawdon St for their patience while we complete this important upgrade.

Update - 20 December

The second stage of major works to replace an ageing water main along Shepparton’s Hawdon St will begin in January.

Contractors will begin onsite from Tuesday, January 3, 2023 and will focus on the water main located between Rea St and Balaclava Rd.

Works are expected to take about three weeks, and have been scheduled during the holidays to complete the majority of construction before school resumes and to lessen the impact on motorists using Hawdon St.

To reduce construction time, two crews will work simultaneously to install a new 180mm HDPE water main and connect customers to the new, more reliable service.

The existing 375mm-diameter main will also be lined with a new HDPE insert and will continue to supply other high-volume water users on the line.

GVW thanks motorists for thier patience if they experience any delays during the construction phase - customers along Hawdon St will up kept update via SMS and on this page. 

Businesses along Hawdon St will remain open during the works.

Update - 31 October

The first stage of the major water main replacement project along Hawdon St is now complete.

Goulburn Valley Water is thanking residents along Hawdon St and motorists for their patience and understanding during construction, and the resulting slight traffic delays.

About 300m of a new 180mm water main was installed along Hawdon St between Knight and Rea Sts; with the majority of works carried out during school holidays to minimise the impact on road users.

The remaining section of water main construction and relining of the existing main to continue supplying high-volume customers will be carried out in early and mid-2023.

GVW Managing Director Steve Capewell said the first phase of the project had been successful; and while intense rainfalls had occurred during the works, there was no major impact and works were still complete within the original timeframe.

“We saw around 30 customers connected to a new water main that will improve their service reliability for the next 50 years,” he said.

“We’d like to thank people for their patience while we carried out this important infrastructure upgrade.”

Overall, the project will see about 800m of water main replaced along Hawdon St between Knight St and Balaclava Rd to improve service reliability, following a number of bursts and leaks during the past couple of years.

GVW will keep customers informed ahead of the beginning of the second phase of works, expected to begin in January.

Works underway along Hawdon St in late September.

Update - September 30

Works are continuing to progress well in the first of three phases to replace the ageing water main along Hawdon St. We've installed several new sections of pipe between Knight and Thames Sts, as well as carrying out pressure testing. 

Works will continue next week and into the week after to finalise this section of the project - we anticipate this wrapping up on Friday, October 14.

With school resuming on Monday, works will only be occuring between 9am and 2.30pm to lessen any impact on the traffic during peak periods. 

We're really sorry for any inconvenience - we thank residents along Hawdon St for thier patience while we complete this important upgrade. 

Update - September 15

First phase of works underway

Our contractors Veolia are currently on site, preparing for works to start on Monday as the first major phase of the Hawdon St water main replacement project begins.

Works will be carried out between 7am and 5pm, Monday to Friday. Some sections of the road will be closed, but two-way traffic will remain in place at all times. Motorists using Hawdon St should expect some delays, but we’ll work to minimise the impact on traffic as much as possible, and traffic management will be in place.

The majority of works are expected to be completed within the two-week school holiday period, but we may need to continue works into the first two weeks of October. If that’s the case, we’ll limit works between 9.30am and 2.30pm to avoid impact on school bus services.

In this stage of works, we’ll be installing a new 180mm diameter ‘rider’ water main alongside the existing main.

Two crews will be working simultaneously – one installing a 173m section near the Knight St intersection and one a 224m section near Rea St.

There will be no impact to customers’ water supply during this stage of the upgrade.

Businesses remain open during the upgrades.

Update - September 2

Works for the first phase will begin from September 14 along a section of Hawdon St between Knight and Rea Sts. The majority of the works are expected to be completed by early October as school resumes.

The second and third phases will occur in January and April.

Motorists using Hawdon St are encouraged to plan their journeys and allow extra travel time for potential short delays; traffic management will also be in place.

The replacement would improve service reliability after the existing water main experienced several failures in the past year and was now at the end of its useful life.

Hawdon St residents will be kept informed of key developments via SMS, along with updates on this webpage.

Businesses along Hawdon St will remain open during the works.

Update - June 23

Motorists may experience temporary delays along Shepparton’s Hawdon St next week as Goulburn Valley Water begins exploratory works for a future water main replacement project.

Small sections of the main will be drilled into along Hawdon St between Knight St and Balaclava Rd, to help understand the existing main’s condition and to determine the right replacement option.

Works will begin on Tuesday, 28 June and are expected to run for two to three days.

Crews will only be working on small sections of the road at a time to minimise the impact on road users and traffic management will be in place.

There will be no interruption to the water supply during these works.

About the project

Works are underway on a project to replace an 800m section of ageing water main along Shepparton's Hawdon Street, between Knight St and Balaclava Rd.

The current 375mm diameter main was constructed in 1961 and has recently experienced several bursts and leaks. These failures have caused considerable interruptions to customer water supplies and impacts to road users.

To minimise the impact on Hawdon St residents and road users we’ve split the works into three phases, with the majority of the construction works happening during school holidays. Our contractors will also work with multiple crews to reduce the construction time and we’ve timed the project during months where there’s less demand for water.

Construction works will be carried out as part of GVW's annual water main replacement program, designed to improve service reliability through proactive infrastructure upgrades, and repairs on infrastructure that has previously experienced a number of bursts or failures.

Investigation works were carried out in June/July 2022 to determine the best option to replace the main - this was determined as a new 180mm-diameter main installed alongside the existing main to supply residential customers.

The existing 375mm-diameter main will also be lined with a new HDPE insert, and will continue to supply other high-volume water users on the line.