25 January 2009
STATEMENT ON PIPE BURST IN NORTHCOTE
Melbourne Water is fixing a burst water main near the intersection of St Georges Road and Merri Parade, Northcote.
Crews attended a relatively small leak around 3.30am on Sunday after reports from residents. At around 5.30am a section of the main ruptured, thought to be caused by a failed valve. The leak was stopped around 1.45pm after a complex shutdown procedure to avoid impacting homes and businesses. Crews are now repairing the pipe.
This section of the main does not have a history of failure. It supplies water from Preston Reservoir to a several thousand homes and businesses in Melbourne’s western suburbs. Service to customers is unaffected.
There have been no reports of damage to property. Water from the burst main was allowed to flow into the stormwater system and will ultimately enter local waterways. It is unknown how much water was lost through the burst at this stage, but would represent a very small fraction of the amount the city uses each day.
Melbourne Water’s General Manager of Operations, Tony Antoniou, said repair crews had successfully bypassed the main so the burst could be repaired safely and without affecting customer water supply.
"Unfortunately, it is not as simple as turning off a tap," said Mr Antoniou.
"This is a key water main that supplies homes and business in the western suburbs. In order to fix it we have to shut it down, so to avoid leaving people without water we have to first redirect water from other parts of the system.
"We understand there is a high level of scrutiny around leaks, especially in time of drought. No water system in the world is without leaks, but Melbourne’s are extremely low.
"Since 2002, total leaks in the water supply system have been cut by about a third.
"We spend millions of dollars a year on looking after our assets, which includes hundreds of kilometres of pipes that run from reservoirs through Melbourne’s suburbs," he added.
Media Contact: Andrew McGinnes +613 9235 7277 +61 (0)403 930 846