THE growing problem of leaking and broken pipes spilled over into Bent St, St Albans last week, as a leak quickly turned into a flood just as City West Water released figures showing a dramatic rise in the number of breaks across the West in January.
Residents of Bent St called the water authority last Thursday morning and reported a slow water leak.
Initially classified as a Priority 3 leak – the least pressing category – because it was only a small leak, it was upgraded to a top priority after the pipe burst that afternoon, flooding the street.
Some residents took the opportunity to preserve some of the precious water, picking up buckets and making good use of the commodity.
City West Water managing director Anne Barker said a water officer was on site at 5.15pm and the mains were turned off and work started at 5.30pm.
The burst was repaired and water turned back on at 9.30pm that evening, while the site was cleaned up by about 11.30 that evening.
