A burst water main has left residents in parts of Sydney’s lower north shore without water for three days and caused chaos on roads and public transport.
Water continued to gush on to Epping Road in Lane Cove on Monday, three days after what Sydney Water called a “complex” water main burst.
The burst piping has affected about 2,000 residents and businesses in suburbs across the lower north shore, leaving many without any water supply.
@SydneyWaterNews Day 3 without water. First 2 days no crews on site. Water still being pissed down Epping Rd. 50/60000 homes and businesses without water. What are ye actually doing to resolve the situation? @2GB873 @9NewsSyd @7NewsSydney @10NewsFirstSyd Video from 6pm yesterday pic.twitter.com/BUZUWGdogb
— Paul (@AusEire1) September 11, 2022
In a statement on Monday, Sydney Water said technicians were working on a fix, which was “taking some time due to the location and complexity of the break”.
“Sydney Water is implementing alternative solutions to help boost water pressure across the zone and restore supply,” it said.
“We understand there has been a delay in rectifying the issue, but we are committed to finding a solution as quickly as we can in order to restore services to impacted properties.
“We acknowledge the impact this has had on our customers. We thank you for your patience and apologise for the inconvenience caused.”
The NSW planning minister and local MP, Anthony Roberts, criticised Sydney Water for their “lack of communication”.
“We have been working constantly with the CEO of Sydney Water over the weekend and today to get this issue resolved as quickly as possible for Lane Cove North residents,” he said in a statement.
“This is a major incident, with water being re-routed around the event, to ensure that whilst works are being done, water can be restored to affected residents.
“I have expressed in the strongest terms the frustration of both myself and constituents at the lack of communication from Sydney Water regarding this incident.”
Sydney Water’s head of network operations, Peter Chapman, told the ABC that while crews had been working “around the clock” on the break, “there is still water gushing out over Epping Road”.
“There are quite a number of water mains that interconnect with that, many different valves that we need to operate to isolate,” he said.
“We’re trying to do that in a coordinated manner so that we minimise disruption as best we can to so many customers.”
