Water services have been restored to houses and businesses in the Ocean Shores, South Golden Beach, New Brighton and Billinudgel areas.
The problem was a blockage in a new 450mm trunk main that was installed by contractors today.
The blockage caused what was described by engineers as catastrophic pressure and flow reduction for large parts of Ocean Shores, Billinudgel, South Golden Beach and New Brighton.
The trunk main is the main water supply line for the Ocean Shores area and it was being replaced because the old line was nearing the end of its useful life.
The air block was found and cleared and water pressure and water services restored around 9:30pm.
The night crews, that were brought in to replace contractors and staff who had been working on the installation of the main since 6am, then checked the valves in the area to ensure water was being supplied to all areas.
There will be further follow up work tomorrow (27 November) to ensure full supply over the weekend.
“To the residents and businesses who were without water during the day and tonight – we do sincerely apologise,” Phil Holloway, Director Infrastructure Services, said.
“To have your water turned off unexpectedly and for many hours is a major inconvenience and I thank everyone affected by this for their patience.
“This sort of thing was unforeseen and thankfully does not happen very often and I am sorry for any distress it has caused,” Mr Holloway said.
People may notice some discolouration in the water. This is not a health concern and staff are flushing the mains during the night to remove as much of this as possible.
Residents who have discoloured water are asked to run their shower/tap until the colour returns to normal.
