A burst water pipe severely damaged Sarah Carville’s driveway in Pitt Street last week, leaving her without a water supply for about seven hours.
Camera IconA burst water pipe severely damaged Sarah Carville’s driveway in Pitt Street last week, leaving her without a water supply for about seven hours. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Burst pipe damages driveway

Staff ReporterSouthern Gazette

Scared to drive over the damaged crossover because she could not see the depth of the hole underneath, Sarah Carville said she only had the water in her kettle until she was able to find a safe way out to go and buy water for her 17-month-old girl in the afternoon.

She said Pitt Street, where the Carvilles live, had a leak the previous week and a pipe also burst last month.

Mrs Carville said the burst pipe was reported at 11.30am but nothing was done to fix it until about 5pm. Water services were restored at her home about 6.45pm.

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The crossover was temporarily repaired by filling in the hole, and was expected to be re-concreted at the Water Corporation’s expense late last week.

The next day, the Carvilles’ hot-water system failed due to micro-sediment in the filter.

Water Corporation spokesman Steve Dorricott said there was normally a spike in leaks in the weeks after the first rains or periods of heavy rainfall.

Water leaked from the 100m diameter asbestos cement pipe for about an hour.

‘The most recent leak was caused by a crack in the pipe, which may have been as a result of ground movement following the recent rain,’ he said.

He said the delay to repairs was partly due to a high-pressure gas main in the area.

From 5.30pm, any Pitt Street resident who called the 24-hour operations centre was offered bottled water, and prior to that bottled water was available on request.

Water Corporation records show a leak on April 6 caused by tree root damage and water supply was interrupted in 2011 during pipe repairs.

‘The rate of water main faults in the area is low compared to other suburbs with infrastructure of similar age and construction, and it will continue to be monitored,’ he said.