M4 Water Main Renewal Project
Some of our pipes in this area are more than 100 years old and replacing them will reduce the risk of bursts and leaks – making your water supply more reliable. One of the pipes in this area, the M4 water main, is nearing the end of its service life. We're completing a series of early investigations to locate existing services and ground conditions.
What’s involved in the works?
Surveys to check for existing services
We used specialist scanning equipment and radars to detect water, sewer, gas, telecommunications and electrical underground services. This work was completed in May 2025.
Non-destructive digging
When existing underground services are identified, we use a vacuum truck with a high-pressure water hose to expose the services and record their exact location. This minimises the risk of damage to the buried infrastructure during construction.
This work usually takes 2 to 3 hours at each site and is noisy, especially as we cut through the roadway or pavement.
We're completing these investigatons from Coburg North to Brunswick East, as night work. Our crew is onsite from Sunday to Thursday night, 7 pm to 4 am. We won't be working on Friday or Saturday nights.
- In July we completed investigations along Lygon Street, starting at Bladen Avevue and working south to the Linear Park/Park Street Brunswick East.
- In August and September we'll complete these investigations from Malcolm Street, Coburg North to Bladen Avenue, Brunswick East, working in stages:
- along Elizabeth Street, from Malcom Street to Bell Street
- along Nicholson Street, from Bell Street to Moreland Road
- along Holmes Street, from Moreland Road to Albion Street
- along Lygon Street to Bladen Avenue.
We expect our investigations at the intersection of Holmes and Albion streets to take longer than at other sites - and will require traffic detours. These investigations are expected to start in the week commencing Sunday 31 August 2025.
See our Community Notice, August_September 2025.
Geotechnical investigations
To get a better understanding of the soil and ground conditions at a particular location, we use a drill rig to remove soil and rock samples for analysis and testing. This drilling work is noisy. Depending on the location, ground conditions and weather, these investigations can take up to 2 days to complete at each site. For safety, there may be detours and traffic management at these sites, and there may be additional vehicles in residential streets. These investigations have been ongoing since May 2025.
Also, we may complete specialist geophysical surveys in some streets. A slow-moving, mobile mapping vehicle determines the depth of rock by recording sound waves when a small weight is dropped onto the ground.
What to expect
- There will be specialist equipment and machinery at the investigation sites and additional vehicles parked along residential streets.
- Some of our work will be noisy and disruptive - and some can only be completed at night.
- For your safety, we’ll have traffic management onsite where needed.
- When we’re finished, we’ll restore the sites to as close as possible to the condition they were in before.
- We don’t anticipate any interruption to your water or sewer services.
Map of geotechnical investigation sites
Download map of investigation sites (PDF, 448 KB)
Community Notices 2025
Read our Community Notice - August_September 2025, (PDF, 328KB)
Read our Community Notice - August 2025, (PDF, 384 KB)
Read our Community Notice - July 2025 (PDF, 886 KB)
Read our Community Notice - May 2025 (PDF, 407 KB)
Contact us
For more information about this project and our investigations please contact the project team.
Phone: 13 27 62
Email: [email protected]
If you have questions or feedback, please contact Gillian Seery, Project Manager.
Project updates
July 2024
We've checked the condition of the existing M4 water main under the Bell Street bridge. To do this, a section of the Merri Creek Trail was closed overnight between Harding Street and De Chene Reserve, Coburg.
We had people at key locations to direct pedestrians and cyclists to an alternative route along Nicholson Street to cross Bell Street at the traffic lights.
This detour was planned for Thursday 18 July 2024 from 9 pm until 5 am on Friday 19 July 2024.
The map shows the detour off the Merri Creek Trail at Harding Street, back to Nicholson Street.
January 2024
See our list of investigations completed in early 2024 below:
- 1 Inner Circle Rail Trail and Park Street, near the McIlwraith Street intersection
- 2 Chambers Street, near Brunswick Road
- 3 Ewing Street, north of Brunswick Road
- 5 Blair Street, near the Glenlyon Road intersection
- 13 Barrow Street, north of Moreland Road
- 14 Barrow Street, near The Grove intersection
- 15 Barrow Street, near the Rennie Street intersection
- 16 Barrow Street, near the Harding Street intersection
- 17 Gladstone Street, north of Harding Street
- 18 Younger Street, near the Bell Street intersection
- 19 Elizabeth Street, north of the Bell Street intersection
- 20 Elizabeth Street, between Raymond and Hope streets
- 21 Elizabeth Street, south of Murray Road
- 22 Elizabeth Street, north of Murray Road.
Map of water main investigations
November 2023
See our list of investigations completed in late 2023 below:
- 4 Ewing Street, near the Cocoa Jackson Lane intersection
- 5 Garden Street & Glenlyon Road, near the intersection
- 6 Glenlyon Road & Blair Street, near the intersection
- 7 George Street, near the Albert Street intersection
- 8 Blyth Street, near the Nash Street intersection
- 9 Blyth Street, near the & Errol Avenue intersection
- 10 Barrow Street and Harding Street
- 11 Victoria Grove, near Albion Street intersection
- 12 Barrow Street, near Donald Street intersection
- 13 Barrow Street, south of the Moreland Road intersection
- 15 Barrow Street and The Avenue, near the intersection
- 16 Barrow Street and Hardwick Street.
M4 water main early investigations_November 2023