By Ruza Zivkusic
DRINKING water has been leaking constantly out of a St Albans private property for the past two months.
Residents of Fox St, where the leakage is occurring, are furious that little has been done to stop the wastage, saying every drop is like “blood” since the recent introduction of Stage 3 water restrictions were imposed.
Those caught breaking the rules may see their water flow restricted from 40 litres a minute to just two.
And Fox St resident Marina Sabioni is furious that City West Water seems not to have taken her seriously when she reported the leakage nearly two months ago.
“I feel sorry that so much water is going to waste. Everyday more and more water gets out,” Ms Sabioni said.
She reported the incident twice to City West Water and Brimbank City Council but did not receive a reply.
City West Water managing director Anne Baker said City West Water was alerted to the leak on 29 December.
“Maintenance crews attended and discovered the leak to be on private property. The property was informed and asked to fix the leak,” Ms Baker said.
Nothing had been done about the matter when Star inspected the leak last Tuesday.
Ms Baker told Star that a notice was issued last week to repair the leak. Included with the notice were details of an available plumber.
City West Water was unable to confirm whether the property’s owner had been fined.
St Albans resident Peter Gelo said: “It doesn’t matter whether it’s a private property or not. City West Water should take this matter seriously and do everything possible to stop the leakage.”
Water was still pouring from the pipe when this paper went to press last Friday.
