$40m sewer upgrade for Fishermans Bend

South East Water is investing $40 million to upgrade Port Melbourne’s sewer system, supporting population growth and safety concerns in Fishermans Bend.

The $40 million critical infrastructure works involve extending the current sewer network to facilitate the future relocation of a major sewer pump station on Salmon St, Port Melbourne.

The future pump station will be 11 metres deep, replacing the existing 100-year-old pump station, which currently sits within a traffic island, posing a significant safety risk.

South East Water’s acting general manager liveable water solutions Matthew Snell said the Salmon St sewer upgrade would boost capacity to meet population growth and future-proof the system.

“We understand construction can be disruptive, and we’re committed to keeping the community informed and supported throughout the works. We do our best to keep impacts on residents and traffic to a minimum with crews onsite to ensure people, bikes and cars can move around safely,” Mr Snell said.

South East Water’s industry partner Beca, Fulton Hogan and Interflow joint venture (BFHI) is undertaking the works, which will be delivered in three stages.

The first stage is nearing completion with the installation of new sewerage pipes and is expected to be completed in early 2026.

South East Water general manager Charlie Littlefair said that with Fishermans Bend mooted to house around 80,000 people by 2050, increasing the capacity of the sewerage system was important.

“Our crews are now excavating shafts and installing pipes using a process called microtunnelling. The machine is lifted into the ground and pushes so slowly that it can barely be seen to be moving, all while Salmon St traffic is flowing above,” Mr Littlefair said.

Stage 2, which includes building the new pump station, is in the design phase. Stage 3 will involve decommissioning the old infrastructure.

The Salmon St project will continue into 2027 when the current pump station is decommissioned.

South East Water is investing $2.1 billion between 2023 and 2028 in capital projects to support population growth, climate adaptation, regulatory compliance and rising customer expectations. This includes expanding its network with more than 14,700 km of water pipes, 1,500 km of recycled water pipes and 11,600 km of sewer pipes delivered in 2024–25.

Fishermans Bend is Australia’s largest urban renewal project, expected to house around 80,000 residents and accommodate 80,000 workers by 2050.