Burst water mains in South Australia increased by 10 per cent
Burst water main incidents have grown by ten per cent. But SA Water has a long-term plan to fix them.
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- 2016: CBD bursts at six-year-high
- 2017: Ian Hunter promises $55m to fix burst mains
- 2018: Burst water mains in South Australia increased by 20 per cent
More smart-sensors are needed to prevent burst water mains across Adelaide, a long-awaited report has revealed.
Water Minister David Speirs will today release an independent review into SA Water mains management.
Its release coincides with new figures from the Bureau of Meteorology that show the water corporation experienced a 10 per cent increase in burst water mains – growing from 3723 in 2017-18 to 4107 last financial year.
Burst water mains were an issue that dogged the former Labor government, particularly then-water minister Ian Hunter.
Bureau figures show there were 3996 SA Water mains “breaks, bursts and leaks” in 2015-16.
Mr Speirs told the Sunday Mail he was confident that under the leadership of the SA Water board and new chief executive David Ryan, improvements would be made to ensure consumers were getting the best possible service.
“We know that over the past few years burst water mains have caused inconvenience, especially on some of our main roads,” he said.
“Since coming into government, I have visited many burst water pipe sites to see first-hand how they affect people’s lives.”
Mr Speirs said a new independent report – commissioned by the SA Water board – showed the corporation had two main areas for improvement: resource allocation and asset management.
The report found “returning water services to customers faster after water main breaks” and “installing more smart-sensor technology on arterial roads to help prevent incidents” were the two key areas that need to be prioritised.
“The report highlighted that SA Water can improve how quickly water is returned to customers affected by burst water mains to reduce the impact on commuters, local businesses and residents,” Mr Speirs said.
“Installing more smart-sensor technology on arterial roads to help prevent burst water mains is another key action SA Water will take following the review.”
The report said SA Water’s focus had been primarily on achieving ESCOSA targets which is a statutory obligation it must meet.
“However, these are aligned to customer response times,” the review said.
“Less focus has been on driving investment to reduce total community impact, including total customer minutes off supply and impact on road users.
“Experience in the UK and other Australian states has shown that more demanding measures focused on total community impact will deliver better outcomes.”
Mr Speirs said the review assessed SA Water’s capabilities against international leading practice in 24 areas, determining seven were leading in international practice, 15 were in step with industry practice and only the two required improvement.