Council staff and contractors are preparing to replace approximately 400m of water pipe on Clayton Road. Procurement of materials is underway, and the work is expected take about a week to complete.
The issue relates to approximately 400 meters of low-pressure pipe that was installed some years ago. The intake that feeds water into this line does not have adequate screening to stop stones entering the pipe and these stones are preventing a pressure reducing valve from operating correctly. This means the pressure in the pipe can rise to a level which is higher than the pipe can withstand.
So what is happening? Picture a straw that is now bulging to double its size until it bursts. There have been several breaks over the last few weeks and there are likely to be more. The breaks are quite spectacular when they go!
Screening at the intake will take some time to implement, and so the best solution is to upgrade the pipe to one with a higher pressure rating.
We apologise for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience while we resolve this issue.