By Michael Newhouse
WORKERS around Tullamarine’s Assembly Drive had to tread carefully last Thursday after water started gushing up from under the pavement and onto the street – the result of another burst water main in what has been a horror period for City West Water.
Linda Debate, co-owner of the Italian Furniture Wholesaler, called the water authority at around 11.25am last Thursday after she noticed water leaking out the front of her business, slowly flooding the car park and threatening to creep into her warehouse.
It was only after the second call to City West Water that the job was given top priority.
“Anyone would be frustrated, of course, but they’ve obviously come as quick as they could,” Ms Debate said as a City West Worker arrived to assess the damage, shortly before midday.
For Ms Debate, this was the third time a pipe had burst out the front of her business.
One time she received a call in the middle of the night only to find her showroom and office flooded because the water had seeped under the door.
Thankfully the leak didn’t quite make it into a flood this time, with City West Water shutting off the mains water supply at about 12.20pm.
The borken main was repaired and water supply restored by 7pm.
City West Water has experienced a huge jump in the number of burst water mains and pipes, which it attributes to the extra dry conditions and the shifting clay soils across Melbourne’s West.
In January this year 550 burst pipes, or leaks were reported to City West Water, compared with 242 during January 2006.
