Western Australia begins $543 million upgrade of historic Perth-Kalgoorlie water pipeline

Western Australia has launched a $543 million upgrade of the Perth-Kalgoorlie water pipeline, one of the state’s longest-standing infrastructure assets. About 44.5 km of the 566-km line, originally designed by engineer CY O’Connor, will be replaced to raise its capacity by roughly 10 percent. The project also includes expanding Binduli Reservoir’s capacity to 800 million litres, doubling its previous volume.

Water Minister Daniel Pastorelli noted that from 2027 the upgrade will deliver an additional 7.2 million litres of water daily to the Goldfields, where demand has risen 16 percent over five years. The new pipeline section will traverse the shires of Westonia, Merredin and Yilgarn, with most of it buried and fabricated locally to last up to 150 years. Premier Roger Cook said this is the first phase of further water-security investments, while Kalgoorlie Mayor Glenn Wilson welcomed the long-overdue maintenance.