Project background

We’ve been working to improve the safety of our heritage-listed Ovoid Sewer Aqueduct and open public access to the Barwon River and 66 hectares of surrounding land. The aqueduct carried the Geelong outfall sewer across the Barwon River from 1915 to 1992, when it was decommissioned and replaced by a pipeline built under the river. Safety risks posed by falling concrete from the deteriorating structure have meant the area around the aqueduct has been closed to the public since 1995.

Once the works are completed and the site is made safe, we aim to progressively open up public access to the area.

The initiative will also support separate work that is underway to create a new cultural and community precinct that will encourage public use of the wider area.

Led by Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation, in partnership with Barwon Water, The award-winning project is rehabilitating a 66-hectare stretch of the river plain known as Porronggitj Karrong (place of the Brolga) and forms a component of the larger Kitjarra-dja-bul Bullarto langi-ut Masterplan for the Barwon through Geelong parklands.

This will ultimately create a balanced ecological system, incorporating Wadawurrung Cultural values, for the whole community to connect, listen and learn from Country.

Project update

Following extensive expert investigations, Barwon Water has resolved to lodge a new permit application to Heritage Victoria, seeking to safely dismantle the 110-year-old structure and significantly recognise its heritage values.

After considering a host of potential options over several years, Barwon Water has determined that the requirements of the existing Heritage Victoria permit cannot be met safely. That permit, issued in November 2020, allows for four spans of the aqueduct to be removed, with the remaining 10 spans to be retained and conserved.

However, the aqueduct cannot be safely maintained - and its eventual failure is unavoidable - even if structural propping was installed, investigations have found.

Barwon Water is committed to acknowledging and recognising the European heritage of the Aqueduct and is developing a Heritage Interpretation Strategy to support its application to Heritage Victoria. This strategy will highlight the historic, scientific, aesthetic, and architectural significance of the aqueduct.

Caption: Click and drag to interact with this 360 degree panorama of the Ovoid Sewer Aqueduct. The arrow shows the eighth tower. If you want to turn off the motion, press the 'pause' button in the top right of the image.