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🇦🇺 Australia /Energy & Infrastructure

More than 300 homes stalled as SA Water faces ‘severe constraints’

From ABC Australia · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

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  • A planned development of about 340 homes near Kadina on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula cannot proceed while SA Water assesses whether its network has enough capacity.
  • The agency has not provided a timeline for new connections and acknowledged that it underestimated the time needed to respond to developers.
  • SA Water says its current funding priorities focus on Greater Adelaide, leaving no Housing Roadmap funding for network upgrades in other areas.

A planned 340-home development on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula remains stalled because SA Water cannot say whether its network can support the project.

The 28-hectare greenfield site on Abbot Drive in Kadina has been waiting for an answer on new connections. Correspondence seen by the ABC shows that SA Water had promised to notify developers of connection requirements by February, but later acknowledged that it had underestimated the time needed to finalize its response.

can't get a definitive answer about why we can't get water

· Brenton BrindThe real estate agent described the uncertainty surrounding the proposed Kadina development.

The agency told developers it was conducting a technical analysis to understand how future demand could be accommodated. It said it could not yet confirm whether the existing network had sufficient capacity or determine what infrastructure upgrades might be needed.

Brenton Brind of Wardle Real Estate Co said he could not get a definitive explanation for why the development could not secure water. When the application was lodged in 2023, he said, SA Water had not indicated that capacity was uncertain. Regional subdivisions had generally been able to obtain water, he said, even though rural connections were not guaranteed.

In the township it was always a given, we've always been able to get water on any subdivision.

· Brenton BrindBrind said the development’s water access problem was unlike previous local subdivisions.

SA Water has said its current four-year funding cycle prioritizes Greater Adelaide in line with the state government’s Housing Roadmap. The cycle will be reassessed in 2028, but the agency says the roadmap currently provides no funding capacity for network upgrades outside priority areas.

Brind said that even if funding arrives in 2028, construction and connection could take years. Regional councils have also urged the state government to reduce barriers to housing supply, identifying limited enabling infrastructure as a major obstacle.

As a result SA Water is not yet in a position to confirm whether sufficient capacity exists within the current network to support the development, nor the scope of any infrastructure augmentation that may be required.

· SA Water staff memberThe agency explained why it could not confirm connections or required upgrades.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Australia in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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