McCrae landslide
Learn more about South East Water’s response to the McCrae landslide on 14 January 2025 and involvement in the Victorian Government’s Board of Inquiry
Update – 9 October 2025
South East Water’s response to the McCrae landslide Inquiry report
For more detail on our response, read our media statement.
Update - 21 August 2025
South East Water acknowledges it has been an extremely difficult time for all the residents impacted by the landslide on 14 January 2025 and members of the community in McCrae. We also acknowledge the Council worker who was injured in the landslide.
We remain committed to helping our customers and community impacted by the landslide. This includes:
- engaging directly with customers impacted or displaced from their homes due to the landslide.
- continuing to waive water bills for evacuated properties.
- implementing our planned digital meter rollout across Melbourne’s south-east, including in McCrae. We’ve now installed over 2,200 digital meters. A digital meter allows you to track your water use in near real-time and detect possible leaks on your property, saving you water and money.
- continuing to monitor the performance of our network in McCrae and assigning the highest priority to any reported issues.
- assisting the Victorian Government’s Board of Inquiry into the McCrae landslide, including this South East Water submission and over 10,000 submitted documents. Read the Inquiry’s terms of reference.
Independent expert investigation
We’ve commissioned specialist geotechnical and hydrogeological experts to undertake independent analysis to assess whether our (South East Water) assets may have contributed to the McCrae landslide in January 2025. The investigation work is ongoing.
The second report by SMEC’s technical experts has been made available to the Board of Inquiry.
The findings in this report reflect the state of knowledge at a particular point in time. We also acknowledge that other experts have reached different conclusions based on their own investigations and perspectives.
- Read the second assessment report (30 July 2025).
- Read the preliminary assessment report (5 May 2025).
- Read our latest investigative works update in McCrae (June 2025).
Monitoring and works we’re doing in the area
We’ve dedicated significant resources in an organisation-wide effort to understand and respond to the situation.
Prioritising monitoring and works
- Implemented night-time leak detection data analysis 3 times per week.
- Implemented fortnightly ‘walks’ for manual acoustic leak detection.
- Designated reports of leaks or surfacing water in McCrae as ‘Priority 1’ tasks requiring an average 1-hour response time.
- Undertaken water sampling, analysis and on-site excavation
- Authorised Mornington Peninsula Shire Council testing in and around our asset trenches.
Digital meters
- Installed over 2,200 digital meters in McCrae to improve leak detection, both on customers’ properties and throughout the network. This rollout is now mostly complete.
- Since the mass digital meter rollout in McCrae, we’ve issued over 120 alerts for ‘continuous water flow’ from 1 May to 22 August 2025. Causes range from a tap being left on, to leaking appliances and to household plumbing leaks. In one case, a hose was found running in a backyard. Digital meters have detected 52 continuous flows exceeding 1,000 litres per day.
- For a 3-person household, the average daily water usage typically falls between 450 and 750 litres, depending on the region and water usage habits. In Melbourne, the target for a 3-person household is 450 litres per day. Our Digital Metering Program on the Mornington Peninsula has seen 32,400 meters installed across Mornington Peninsula Shire since 2021, with over 64,500 still to go over the next few years.
- If you have a digital meter, register for mySouthEastWater so you can track your water use.
Water sampling and laboratory analysis
We had also been informed of water surfacing in the area in December 2024 (before the landslide). We took samples from water surfacing in the landscape and provided it to an independent laboratory for testing. Fourteen samples were collected and analysed over the period 24 December 2024 to 22 January 2025 (before and after the landslide). McCrae street locations included:
- Waller Place
- Charlesworth Street
- View Point Road
- Penny Lane
- Coburn Avenue
- Prospect Hill Road.
Laboratory analysis of water samples considered levels of:
- electrical conductivity – drinking water electrical conductivity ranges from 50uS/cm to 200uS/cm, whereas more saline seawater/groundwater ranges from 200uS/cm to over 2200uS/cm
- fluoride – fluoride is added to drinking water for public health (dental) reasons and is usually detected in the range of 0.4mg/L to 0.9mg/L
Typical values for our network are electrical conductivity 83uS/cm and Fluoride 0.77mg/L.
We tested 14 surface water samples in an independent laboratory. None of the samples were a direct match for the properties of drinking water. Two of the results, taken from gutters and stormwater pits, had water chemistries with similarities to drinking water. We believe these 2 results were due to a confirmed on-property water leak in Prospect Hill Road. The leak was finding its way to a basement pump for removal of groundwater, which discharged the water into stormwater gutters and pits.
There are a wide range of reasons why drinking water from sources other than a water main leak may be present in locations such as streets, stormwater gutters and pits. These include:
- outdoor irrigation
- emptying swimming pools or ponds
- leaks in private plumbing
- pumping water from private property to the streetscape.
We've commissioned specialist geotechnical and hydrogeological experts to undertake independent analysis to assess whether our (South East Water) assets may have contributed to the McCrae landslide.
FAQs
Our response to the landslide
State Emergency Services (SES) was the body appointed to manage the response phase of this incident. Mornington Peninsula Shire Council assumed control on 11 February 2025 as the body to lead and manage the recovery phase of this incident.
On 4 February 2025, the Premier of Victoria also announced a Board of Inquiry into the cause of the landslide. Read the inquiry’s terms of reference.
While we continue to undertake a thorough health check and review of our network, it does take time to conduct this work.
We also understand that building a meaningful picture of a very complex issue extends beyond South East Water and we look forward to the Inquiry’s findings in relation to the cause of the landslide.
We’ve tried to make it as easy as possible for our customers and community to meet with and contact us if they need to.
We’ve been focussing our efforts on supporting customers who have been unable to occupy their homes. This includes:
- assigning a dedicated customer liaison officer as a direct point of contact for matters related to their water supply and wastewater services
- waiving water bills for the period impacted customers are unable to occupy their homes
- providing advice to customers about what to do when their water service can be re-connected and they can return to their homes.
- attending community forums to provide information, listen to residents and respond to questions.
We’ve set up a dedicated email address for customer queries: mccrae@sew.com.au
Board of Inquiry into the McCrae landslide
We’ve been responding to requests for information from the Inquiry. This has included submitting over 10,000 documents so far.
Our (then) Managing Director Lara Olsen appeared as a witness to the Inquiry on Friday 16 May 2025. Several other South East Water employees also appeared as expert witnesses on 23 and 24 June 2025.
For more information visit Witness list | McCrae Landslide Inquiry
We look forward to the Inquiry’s findings in relation to the cause of the landslide.
We welcome any findings in relation to our drinking water supply assets or our sewer assets.
We also welcome any findings from the Inquiry into any features of the natural environment or any other human activities – such as vegetation management, planning and building activity, stormwater and drainage management, property and private plumbing maintenance, and outdoor irrigation – that may be determined as relevant to landslide risk.
Importantly, we welcome any recommendations about how residents, agencies and the community might be able to mitigate likelihood and impact of similar events in future and improve our resilience to landside risk in McCrae (with learnings applicable to other parts of our service area).
The cause of the landslide is not yet known.
A hypothesis currently under review is whether a burst water main at Bayview Road, 450 m from the landslide site, may have contributed to the landslide on 14 January 2025. This water main burst lost a very large volume of water over an extended period of time (at least November–December 2024).
We’ve commissioned specialist geotechnical and hydrogeological experts to undertake an independent assessment of the likelihood of impact and contribution of our (South East Water) assets on the landslide. You can view their preliminary and secondary assessment reports here.
Based on currently available information, hypotheses that the burst water main at Bayview Road impacted the landslide site have been assessed as not feasible, with other sources of impact within and adjacent to the landslide site considered more likely sources of impact. This assessment is preliminary, it may be subject to change as more information becomes available, and further expert investigations are ongoing.
We recognise the importance of protecting your personal information and the trust placed in us to handle that information with care and in accordance with law.
At South East Water, we may use or disclose your personal information in accordance with the provisions our Privacy Charter Privacy charter | South East Water.
The Privacy Charter includes information that explains when South East Water may be legally required to disclose personal information (see e.g. clause 5.4).
To assist the Victorian Government’s Board of Inquiry, water usage data recorded at properties located in the McCrae Landslide Area may have been disclosed by South East Water to the Board of Inquiry in response to a legal notice(s) requiring South East Water to produce this information in accordance with the Inquires Act 2014 (Vic).
We recognise the significant impact the landslide has had on residents and their families and that the disclosure of water usage information may not have been expected.
If you’d like to receive further information about our Privacy Charter or how we handle your personal information, please contact South East Water’s Privacy Officer.
The Privacy Officer can be contacted via email at foi@southeastwater.com.au.
Visit Board of Inquiry into the McCrae landslide | McCrae Landslide Inquiry.
The transcripts and exhibits from hearings are published online.
