The works are now scheduled to run until September 2026, with SW stating; 'Our target completion is by September, weather and ground conditions permitting. After we finish, we’ll liaise with Northern Beaches Council to carry out permanent restoration.'
Sydney Water state they will start by doing some routine quality checks on the new water main at night between The Crescent and Avalon Parade. This may involve some potholing and excavation at times.
They will also re-establish a temporary compound in the grassy area opposite 61 Old Barrenjoey Road, at the north end of the Woolworths carpark.
The March schedule of works is to finish installing the new water main at the Avalon Parade intersection. They will then clean and connect the new pipe, transfer services, and decommission the old pipe.
Most of these works will be done at night to reduce impacts to daytime traffic flows.
Later in the year, Sydney Water will also do night work at the Old Barrenjoey Road and The Crescent intersections.
Community drop-in sessions
Sydney Water will continue the drop-in sessions on the first Wednesday of every month between 2pm and 4pm in Dunbar Park. Their team will be there to discuss our work and answer any questions you have.
Next drop-in session: Wednesday, 01 April 2026, 2pm–4pm
Where: Dunbar Park, 59 Old Barrenjoey Road, Avalon Beach NSW 2107
March Update: Details
Our work so far
Last year we installed most of the new water main by open-trenching and under-boring along Old Barrenjoey Road. We also installed smaller pipes that will connect individual properties and fire services to the new main.
Due to difficult ground conditions last year, we still have some work to do before we can clean and connect the new main.
Upcoming work
We’ll start from Monday 16 March by carrying out some routine quality checks on the new water main at night between The Crescent and Avalon Parade. This may involve some potholing and excavation at times.
Remaining work
After we complete our quality checks, we will:
- finish installing the water main at the Avalon Parade intersection
- test and clean the new pipe
- connect the pipe to the system
- transfer property and fire services to the new pipe
- decommission the old main.
Avalon Parade intersection
We’ll work at night from late March until about June to finish laying the last sections of water main at the intersection of Old Barrenjoey Road and Avalon Parade.
We’ll then have some quieter periods where we test the pipes and clean them so they’re ready for connection. We’ll then work in stages to connect the pipe and decommission the old main. We’ll pack up our work areas at the end of each shift.
We’ll use some parking spots on Avalon Parade and Old Barrenjoey Road while we work in this area (refer to the map). This area will be used to store equipment nearby, so we minimise impacts to residents near our compound near Barrenjoey Road. We’ll minimise the space we use as much as possible.
We do not plan on taking any car spaces within the Woolworths carpark and we do not expect to have any more daytime work areas within the one-way Old Barrenjoey Road shared space zone.
Near Barrenjoey Road
After we finish installing the rest of the water main, we’ll work near the intersection of Old Barrenjoey Road and Barrenjoey Road. This involves testing and cleaning the pipes, connecting the new main to the system and then making the final connection between the new water main, fire services and connections to each building. We’ll then decommission the old water main.
We expect this work to take about four weeks in total.
We’ll write to the closest neighbours before we start work in this area.
Near The Crescent
Our remaining work near the intersection of Old Barrenjoey Road and The Crescent will be like our work near Barrenjoey Road. It involves connecting the new main to the existing network, testing and cleaning the pipes and then making the final connection between the new water main, fire services and connections to each building. We’ll then decommission the old water main.
We expect to work intermittently for about 10 weeks in this area. We’ll write to our closest neighbours before we start work nearby.
Other work areas
Last year, we installed smaller pipes in preparation for properties and fire services to be connected to the new pipe. Once the new water main is connected, we’ll work along Old Barrenjoey Road to connect these pipes to the system. We’ll work progressively along the road, and we expect to complete this stage in about four weeks.
Our work hours
We will work from 8 pm to 5 am, Monday nights to Friday mornings. Our work needs to be done at night:
- to reduce impacts to daytime traffic flows
- when water use is low.
We may have traffic control, deliveries and the movement of materials during the day from time to time. We won’t work on Sundays or public holidays.
What can I expect?
We understand our work can be disruptive at times, but we will make every effort to reduce our impact as much as possible. You may experience:
Noise
There will be some noise from our equipment and machinery. We will finish our noisiest work such as saw cutting and jack hammering by midnight, however other excavations, backfilling and using a vacuum (sucker) truck may continue until 5 am. We’ll minimise vehicle and machinery movements and avoid unnecessary loud noises.
The noise you’ll hear will vary depending on how far you are from our work and the type of home you live in. If you would like to discuss how our work will impact you, please contact us and we’d be happy to talk through more details.
Traffic changes
There will be changed traffic arrangements along Old Barrenjoey Road while we work at night. Please follow our signs and the direction of traffic controllers. We’ll always maintain access for residents, garbage trucks and emergency vehicles.
The map indicates the location of our main work areas, site compound and temporary laydown areas. We will only use the laydown areas when working nearby and will pack them up when not needed for extended periods.
Temporary laydown areas and parking impacts
We’ll continue to use the temporary compound in the grassy area opposite 61 Old Barrenjoey Road and two parking spaces in front of the compound.
At times, we’ll have rolling temporary laydown areas on Old Barrenjoey Road, Avalon Parade and The Crescent when we work close by. We’ll use these to minimise tracking machinery along the road at the end of each shift. We’ll need some parking spots for these laydown areas and will return these to the community when they’re not in use for extended periods.
Road and footpath restoration
We’ll temporarily restore the road and footpath to allow for continued use and work with Council to permanently restore all impacted areas at the end of the project.
Where do I get more information?
To know more, please contact us at confluence@sydneywater.com.au or call 1800 943 119.
Visit the Sydney Water Old Barrenjoey Road webpage for more details.
Thank you for your patience and understanding during this important work.
Sydney Water equipment in Old Barrenjoey Road and Avalon Parade, 2nd week of November 2025
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Covering the hole
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work area at intersection of Old Barrenjoey road and Avalon Parade
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cordoned off work area for equipment on Avalon Parade