“ADVERSE media attention” has flushed more Elizabeth Quay plumbing issues to the surface, according to the Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority (MRA) chief executive.
Kieran Kinsella said media attention prompted a Building Commission review of the water park, which found an issue with a bent sewage pipe.
“There is no possibility that sewage is getting into the water park,” he said.
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READ NOWMr Kinsella said the MRA employed contractor Leighton Broad to oversee works for the $284 million water park contract.
“It’s not great to have to come down here and defend a contractor who we’ve paid a good sum of money to; we would expect (them) to have the supervision capability to put plumbing in place,” he said.
“I can assure that I don’t run around on the building site checking that the plumbing is in place, it is not my qualification, so that’s why we employ companies of that ilk who employ well-paid engineers to make sure that these works are done properly.”
Speaking to the media, Mr Kinsella said no health problems would be caused by the bent sewage pipe but areas of the “public realm” would need to be dug up to fix the issue.
“There will be some parts of the public realm that will need to be lifted and replaced once the plumbing has been fixed,” he said.
“That really depends on how smart our engineers are at Leighton Broad at fixing that issue.
“They want us to come up with some smart answers to fix these problems rather than pull up the cobbles so we are giving them time.”
According to Mr Kinsella, taxpayers would not have to foot the bill for the problem but could not confirm who the plumbers were.
“We are as bemused as you are that an unlicensed plumber could be on a project of that nature,” he said to the press.
“I’m not clear in my mind which plumbers did what.
“And we’re asking the contractor to clarify and rectify these matters for us.”
Planning Minister Donna Faragher said it was “disappointing” to see “teething problems” with the water park.
“This relates to a sub contractor but that is a level of detail that I do not have at the moment,” she said.
“I’ve only just become aware of this I must say, I understand further investigations are being done.”