The Malinauskas Labor Government will accelerate $59 million in water and sewer infrastructure upgrades in Adelaide’s northern suburbs to ensure new homes can be delivered as quickly as possible.

Housing and construction industry associations have raised serious concerns that without action, building will stall and developers could abandon projects due to the inability to connect to water and sewerage.

The decision to allocate infrastructure funding will address a failure of the former Liberal Government, which under then Water Minister David Speirs failed to adequately cater for predictable population and housing growth in SA Water’s 2020-24 regulatory determination, which set out the corporation’s expenditure for those four years.

Under Mr Speirs’ leadership, SA Water’s 2020-2024 regulatory submission allocated just $20 million towards network growth in Adelaide’s northern suburbs.

Instead, the Liberal Government’s expenditure priority was $21 million to allow people to kayak, fish and engage in other recreational activities at the Happy Valley Reservoir.

The Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) explicitly outlined these concerns about the lack of investment at the time, telling the Essential Services Commission of South Australia:

“Members of the UDIA have expressed concern that the draft determination is weighted too far in favour of price reductions at the expense of future investment.

“… without adequate investment and maintenance, the longer-term impacts could be far worse.”

Extract from UDIA letter 30 April 2020 - RE: SA Water Regulatory Determination 2020: Draft Determination

Those longer-term impacts are now being felt in the form of an acute housing shortage.

Almost 1400 houses across five development sites in Angle Vale are yet to be built and without this investment, the current water and sewer networks would not be able to cope with the significant increase in demand.

Currently, new residents in 500 completed houses at these Angle Vale developments require their sewerage to be removed from dedicated chambers by vacuum trucks almost daily, before it’s transported to the Bolivar Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The Government will now direct SA Water to allocate $59 million to deliver water and sewer infrastructure to Angle Vale, which will also help unlock further growth throughout the area by enabling continued augmentation of SA Water’s networks.

This investment will deliver new trunk water and sewer mains, along with the upgrade of an existing sewer pump station to increase its capacity.

This investment is included in SA Water’s 2024-2028 regulatory determination, which is currently before ESCOSA, which is due to issue its final determination next month.

SA Water has already initiated detailed design work and early procurement of pipes, with sewer upgrades expected to be completed by mid-2025, and water upgrades by mid-2026.

This initial investment is a small portion of the significant money required to address urgent needs in Adelaide’s growing outer suburbs.

The Malinauskas Labor Government will reveal details of the extensive investment and master-planning for future water and sewer infrastructure at a special Housing Roadmap event on Tuesday, June 25.

The Housing Roadmap will reveal the Government’s plan to increase land supply, expedite the planning process, tackle infrastructure challenges currently limiting development and bolster skills in the construction and planning sectors with the single focus - getting more South Australians into their own home.

The infrastructure masterplan is being developed following meetings between the Government and the state leaders of industry bodies including the UDIA, Property Council of Australia (PCA), Civil Contractors Federation (CCF), Master Builders Australia (MBA) and Housing Industry Association (HIA).

The Government’s Housing Infrastructure Planning and Development Unit (HIPDU) coordinated a recent workshop to ensure government agencies are working together to sequence construction works and create greater efficiencies to speed up the building process in greenfield sites.

For drone vision of development sites in Angle Vale click here.

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Quotes

Attributable to Nick Champion

This is a catastrophic failure – and a prime example of what happens when governments prioritise short term politics over long term, strategic decision making.

I cannot believe we are in a situation where developers are seriously considering abandoning projects because our pipes can’t cope with more houses.

With this initial investment, we are unlocking a growth front across northern Adelaide to help house more South Australians.

This investment is a significant first step, and I look forward to the Premier outlining further detail in the comprehensive housing road map in the coming weeks.

This is kickstarting a pipeline of activity to deliver a pipeline of housing.

We are facing unprecedented demand for housing and increased greenfield growth will be critical to meeting the requirements for the community.

Attributable to Liam Golding, Chief Executive Urban Development Institute of Australia SA

The Urban Development Institute has long been highlighting the need for infrastructure investment to unlock the housing supply we so desperately need.

You don’t arrive at a housing crisis overnight. Where we are now is the result of a sustained period of underinvestment and a lack of strategic planning for infrastructure.

While we welcome this investment, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Significant immediate needs remain, and sustained funding with a detailed plan are required just to start us on a path back to a normal housing market.

The Urban Development Institute will continue to work with the Government to light the way out of the crisis and to help more families into homes.

Attributable to Bruce Djite, SA Executive Director, Property Council

It is positive that after raising the alarm on this issue, the government has listened and more importantly committed to resolving this growth challenge by investing in enabling infrastructure.

This is a welcome and positive first step in addressing the single greatest handbrake on delivering more greenfield homes - a lack of trunk infrastructure, specifically water and sewerage.

While significantly more investment is required, we look forward to continuing discussions with the government and expect a material increase in investment over the coming months, so that developers and builders can get on with building the communities the state so desperately needs.

Attributable to Will Frogley, Chief Executive Officer Master Builders SA

The Malinauskas Government was right to announce record land releases. Now removing constraints on developments is essential. Homebuyers, developers and builders must have certainty regarding water supply, sewer infrastructure and other utility services.

The government must continue to ensure SA Water is sufficiently funded to carry out the necessary infrastructure expansion to ensure shovels hit the ground in areas like Angle Vale as soon as possible.

Attributable to Stephen Knight, Executive Director Housing Industry Association SA

I am very pleased to see the government has acted decisively on what is a critical component of delivering new housing in our future high growth areas.

Water and sewer infrastructure along with power and roads need to be planned, funded and ready to go well ahead of building homes, I look forward to further announcements on the 25th June at the Housing Roadmap event.

The Premier and Minister Champion have listened carefully to the concerns of the HIA and other industry peak bodies and reacted appropriately. Planning for infrastructure takes time and significant resources, today’s announcement shows their commitment to solving our housing availability crisis.

Attributable to Rebecca Pickering, CEO of Contractors Federation SA

Civil contractors, who are the builders of our water and sewer infrastructure, are pleased and relieved with today’s announcement. This investment is well overdue, and they are ready to get works underway.

With this precedent set and funds allocated to ensure critical northern suburb water and sewer infrastructure, our civil contractors' confidence may be restored. This will enable the sector to continue its growth and investment to deliver Housing Accord targets.

The Housing Roadmap presents an exciting new opportunity for South Australia, where critical housing infrastructure and the civil sector that builds it are finally supported by robust planning and action.

Attributable to Daniel Palumbo, Managing Director Palumbo Group

This comes at a much needed time for the industry to be able to deliver the housing requirements for all South Australians. Time is now of the essence and we need to act fast to deliver some housing relief.

This government recognised the need for HIPDU to be established, the unit has listened to industry and highlighted the issues.

The Premier’s recent cabinet reshuffle ensures Minister Nick Champion has oversight of Planning and SA Water so that when announcements are made, infrastructure is considered immediately, meaning essential services are delivered on time and in full for South Australians.