Sydney Water leaves Freshwater family with pool full of poo after sewage pipe bursts

Northern beaches residents have been subjected to a tsunami of human excrement after their sewerage pipes burst, and the bureaucrats at Sydney Water have left one homeowner with a pool full of poo.

At least five properties including Katie Rodwell’s home were flooded with sewerage when a pipe burst on Wyadra Ave, Freshwater. Picture: Tim Hunter

Families on a northern beaches street have been subjected to a tsunami of human excrement flowing through their homes and gardens, and the bureaucrats at Sydney Water have left one homeowner with a pool full of poo.

Freshwater resident Katie Rodwell has found herself in a stinky situation after Wyadra Avenue’s sewerage pipe burst for the second time in three years after heavy rain on Sunday night, causing waste to overflow into five properties.

“We got up at 6:45am (on Monday) and there was a river of water coming through our back garden and into the street,” she said.

“Our pool was brown and there was waste sewerage fountaining up from the drain.”

While Ms Rodwell’s home was spared, her neighbours four doors down weren’t so lucky, forced to evacuate after the river of faeces breached the interior.

Katie Rodwell next to her swimming pool in Freshwater. Thanks to a burst sewerage pipe, the water is far from fresh. Picture: Tim Hunter.

Contractors from waste management company Veolia were quickly brought in to clean up the mess but when workers offered to drain Ms Rodwell’s dung-filled swimming pool they met a roadblock, informed by Sydney Water that it would be “against policy” to do so.

“They said to leave the pool alone, the resident has to organise that themselves,” Ms Rodwell said.

Katie’s pool in the immediate aftermath of the “poo-nami”. Picture: Supplied

“I thought ‘this doesn’t make sense, the guy’s here, he’s got the equipment and he’s offering to do it’.”

The northern beaches mum is now worried about the health implications for her family, locking shut her windows and doors in fear her two children with intellectual disabilities will be exposed to the effluent.

“I was frantically calling pool companies and they were all busy; now it’s been two and a half days and I’ve still got a pool full of s**t in the backyard,” she said.

“Sydney Water seem more worried about their policies than leaving a health hazard.”

Sydney Water would not allow waste management workers to drain the pool, instead asking Katie to find a private contractor and send the water company a receipt for reimbursement. Picture: Tim Hunter.

The state government-owned utility service has proposed a 50 per cent hike on Sydneysiders’ water bills over the next five years to pay for a $26 billion infrastructure and maintenance blitz.

The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal’s draft decision on the proposal would instead see bills for typical household customers increase by $61 – or 4.6% plus inflation – each year on average.

A spokeswoman for Sydney Water said technicians had identified overgrown tree roots as the cause of the burst pipe, “an issue that can occur despite regular maintenance”, and said clean-up is continuing.

“Sydney Water responds to and manages incidents according to protocols that are best for the customer and crews and cannot engage in cleaning or repairing private infrastructure such as swimming pools,” she said.

“Sydney Water reimburses all reasonable and documented costs associated with the impact of an incident, including pool cleaning and restoration.

“We apologise for the inconvenience caused.”

The Northern Beaches Council said it did not receive any enquiries regarding the incident, which was handled by Sydney Water on the day.

Originally published as Sydney Water leaves Freshwater family with pool full of poo after sewage pipe bursts