Goldfields Water Supply Scheme, Water infrastructure engineering landmark in Western Australia, Australia.
The Goldfields Water Supply Scheme is a pipeline system connecting Mundaring Weir near Perth across 566 kilometers to Kalgoorlie, delivering water to more than 100,000 residents in the Eastern Goldfields region. Along the route stand eight pump stations, with six original steam-powered facilities still preserved as working parts of the system.
Engineer C.Y. O'Connor completed the system in 1903 to meet the urgent water needs during the Western Australian gold rush. The completion allowed permanent settlement of the mining areas and secured the survival of towns in the dry interior.
The names of the pump stations along the route recall the pioneering days of mining and show how water made settlement of the interior possible in the first place. Today visitors can still see the old machinery at several stations and understand how complex the water supply for the remote goldfields actually was.
Some pump stations are open to visitors and offer insight into the historic engineering work, while others remain actively pumping water. The facilities lie along remote roads between Perth and Kalgoorlie, so planning for outback travel is necessary.
The American Society of Civil Engineers designated the project as an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark for its technical achievements. At the time of completion it was the longest freshwater pipeline in the world and was considered a technical gamble that many thought impossible.
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