Camden Park resident finds house surrounded by half a metre of sewage after sinkhole opens

Parts of an Adelaide woman’s home filled with raw sewage on Thursday after a huge sinkhole appeared in the middle of a suburban street, flooding the area.

A sinkhole has emerged on Mooringe Ave at Camden Park. Picture: Evangeline Polymeneas

A sinkhole that appeared in the middle of Mooringe Ave at Camden Park on Wednesday morning has not only closed the road but caused mass sewage flooding.

Resident Caitlin Penny, 29, came home from the grocery store around 10am Wednesday to find her home surrounded “by a moat of sh*t”.

“It was a literal sh*t storm,” she said.

At first the hairdresser did not realise the half a metre of water surrounding her house – and inside her laundry – was sewage.

“I walked through it because my dog was swimming in it,” she said.

“I thought I left a tap running … I realised what it was when I stepped on one of them (a poo).”

A sinkhole, which has appeared in the middle of Mooringe Ave at Camden Park Wednesday morning, has not only closed the road but caused mass sewage flooding. Read SA's weather update: https://t.co/y5HVaHc5rB #theAdvertiser pic.twitter.com/NtHzK1L2Yp

— The Advertiser (@theTiser) September 6, 2023

Caitlin Penny’s house was flooded with sewage following a freak sinkhole appearing on her street. Picture: Evangeline Polymeneas

SA Water have provided drinking water to affected residents and will provide cleaners to return sites to their original condition. Picture: Evangeline Polymeneas

Ms Penny called SA Water to turn off her water, which has since been turned back on, but managed to shower and wash her dog beforehand.

“I don’t think I’ve used this amount of Glen20 in my life,” she said.

She said sanitation crews were being discharged to her home at 9am Thursday.

Owner of Plympton Crash Repairs, Glenn Forbes, said the incident occurred at around 9.30am Wednesday but it wasn’t the first time.

Glenn Forbes, owner of Plympton Crash Repairs, said his workshop was flooded with sewage following a sinkhole on his street. Picture: Evangeline Polymeneas

“We had a sinkhole around eight years ago and another eight months ago,” he said.

Mr Forbes said after the recent sinkhole on Wednesday, sewage “spewed on to the street”.

“There was sh*t and p*ss everywhere,” he said.

It flooded Mr Forbes’ workshop.

Mr Forbes said SA Water had been “fully apologetic” and brought him water boxes for drinking.

He said the sinkhole will take two to three days to fix.

An SA Water spokesperson said water supply has since been restored to customers and crews are continuing to excavate to commence repairs to the impacted sewer main.

Crews first arrived on-site at 11.40am Wednesday and “immediately worked to ensure the area remained safe by disinfecting all affected areas including the footpath and road”.

“Three properties were impacted by sewage overflows as a result of the incident, and we are continuing to provide support to residents – including arranging cleaners to return their properties to the state they were in before this incident and covering any out-of-pocket expenses,” the spokesperson said.

“Due to the proximity of the impacted sewer main to a nearby water main, mains-supplied water is temporarily interrupted to nearby properties, with our Community Support team providing these customers with an interim supply of drinking water.

“In addition, we have also provided three water tankers to maintain supply to several local businesses.

“At this stage, we expect customers’ normal water supply to be restored later this evening.”

Due to the challenging conditions on-site, such as persistent rainfall and the depth of the sewer main, SA Water expects Mooringe Ave to remain closed until tomorrow.

“At this stage, it’s too early to identify the cause of the incident,” the spokesperson said.

“Once the sewer main has been repaired, we will undertake CCTV inspections of the pipe to understand its condition and determine if there are any blockages.”