Hundreds more burst water mains across Adelaide, Water Minister Ian Hunter says

WATER Minister Ian Hunter – who infamously promised to “co-design a new engagement paradigm” for better communication – has been told by the Premier that he must communicate better.

• Cardboard cutout — but where’s the real Water Minister
• SA Water admits blame for Paradise flooding after workers activated wrong valves
• 40 million litres a day down the train from leaking and burst pipes
• Watered down — Ian Hunter ignored criticism of SA Water in report he cited
• Dramatic video: Huge gusher in heart of the city

WATER Minister Ian Hunter – who infamously promised to “co-design a new engagement paradigm” for better communication – has been told by the Premier that he must communicate better.

The embattled minister has been given a dressing down by Premier Jay Weatherill and warned to show more empathy for people affected by burst water mains.

Mr Hunter has been under pressure over his response to a spate of Adelaide pipe bursts that have flooded homes and thrown traffic into disarray.

Mr Weatherill yesterday said in Parliament that he had told Mr Hunter people expected SA Water, which falls under his remit, to respond “quickly and effectively to the concerns of their customers”.

Mr Hunter, who is also Environ­ment Minister, faced similar criticism in mid-2014 when he delayed visiting residents affected by soil contamination in Clovelly Park.

He later told a parliamentary Estimates hearing that he would “co-design a new engagement paradigm” to better communicate with them.

Yesterday in Question Time, Mr Weatherill said he had reminded Mr Hunter that SA Water must put customers first.

“Obviously these burst water mains cause real suffering and misery to the people who are directly affected by them and I think that should be our principal concern,” Mr Weatherill said in response to Opposition questioning.

Substitute Ian visits a burst water main at the home of Chelsea Pister in Woodville North earlier this week. Pic: Tait Schmaal

“The truth is, in terms of our burst water mains, that they will be a fact of life; they will occur from time to time.

“We need to respond to them quickly and we need to ensure that any of the loss associated with them is quickly remedied so that people affected can get their lives back to normal.”

Mr Hunter told Parliament that SA Water was “at the top of the tree” when it came to limiting bursts per 100km of water pipe – recording an average of 19.

He released figures showing there were 3825 water main bursts or breaks across SA last financial year, up from 3091 in the previous 12 months.

The number of bursts a year had remained stable for 15 years, at about 4000, he said.

Mr Hunter said a customer relations team would now accompany technicians to burst mains to talk to residents or businesses about details such as when water would turned on again in the area, and provide packaged water if needed.

The Opposition also queried how much compensation SA Water had paid to people affected by burst mains. Mr Hunter said he would have to seek advice before answering.

Liberal Michelle Lensink asked how many residents and businesses Mr Hunter had apol­ogised to in the past fortnight.

“I’ve always expressed sympathy to people who have been affected,” Mr Hunter replied.

“I’ve never said SA Water is a perfect utility.”

SA Water spends about $300 million on maintenance a year, including about $51 million specifically on fixing bursts and leaks. There is about 27,000km of pipe delivering water in SA.