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

Barwon Water has lodged a permit application to remove the 14 towers and spans of the Aqueduct that was decommissioned in the early 1990s. The new permit application comes following extensive expert investigations and subsequent assessment of options which found the Aqueduct cannot be safely maintained - and its eventual failure is unavoidable - even if partial and full structural propping was installed.

Barwon Water is committed to acknowledging and recognising the European heritage of the Aqueduct and developed 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.

Heritage Victoria as the decision maker under the Heritage Act 2017 is currently considering the permit application together with the public submissions received to inform their assessment and decision on the application.

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.