Down the drain

By Melissa Donchi
FOR at least three weeks now Noel Wynd has watched a steady stream of water trickle from a pipe outside his Wesburn home.
So far it has created giant puddles of water on the usually very dry grass and even formed a little stream that stretches for about five metres.
The irony is that since the stream formed outside his house Mr Wynd has been without water – the cause being a busted pipe which continues to pour out his water.
Mr Wynd believes the busted pipe was caused by contractors working on the Natural Gas Extension project because the leak occurred while the works were being carried out.
Yarra Valley Water (YVW) has inspected the pipe but has told Mr Wynd that there is nothing that can be done as the company is busy dealing with other larger and more urgent leaks.
Since the leak began Mr Wynd has had no water to drink, shower or flush the toilet.
He said he has not received a temporary service and relies on the generosity of his neighbours for water.
“Yarra Valley Water has been out to look at the pipe but haven’t said when they can fix it,” Mr Wynd said.
Ivan Vlasic lives across the road from Mr Wynd and says the situation is frustrating.
“Every day I walk outside my house and see all this water gushing out of the ground,” he said, “and all I want to do is run over there and turn it off.”
Mr Vlasic’s water supply was also affected by the busted pipe and YVW has since connected his pipes to his neighbour’s supply as a temporary service.
But Mr Wynd has received no such service and continues to watch his water go to waste.
Eastern Victoria Region MP Edward O’Donohue said he was disgusted by the situation.
“It’s a tragic waste of a precious resource,” Mr O’Donohue said.
“In these times of water scarcity we all need to be doing whatever we can to preserve our water resources and for our water authority not to be able to give a time for when a damaged asset can be fixed is unacceptable.”
But in a statement, the general manager asset services at YVW Sam Austin said his company acted promptly according to its priorities.
“The burst on Station Road in Wesburn was reported at 6.53pm on Monday, 5 March and an assessor was onsite at 7.36pm,” Mr Austin said.
He claims engineers have turned off the leaking water supply.
“We had a number of high priority bursts that evening that were attended to before we could get to Station Road and the crew were on site first thing the next morning to shut off the service and install a temporary service.” Mr Austin said contractors had also been engaged to source the necessary equipment to bore under the road and replace the water main but so far no date has been set for the repair.
YVW said affected customers won’t be charged for water from the temporary supply.
However, Mr Austin did not say whether Mr Wynd will have to pay for the leaking water.
YVW says its target for assessing and fixing minor leaks is 24 hours and that its repair crews work around the clock to help prevent large water loss and to minimise inconvenience to its customers.
But three weeks later and Noel Wynd has still not received a temporary water supply or been given a timeline for fixing the pipe. All he can do is watch his water trickle down the drain.