Flood chaos

By Callan Date
A BURST water main in Hampton Park caused chaos for traders, traffic and one unlucky motorist earlier this week.
Tens of thousands of litres of water went gushing down Somerville Road and onto Pound Road about 9pm last Sunday night.
The rapidly flowing water wreaked havoc on almost everything in its path including a footpath and fence of a near-by medical centre.
Workers were still cleaning up debris two days later with mud and sludge stretching along the street.
CFA crews were quickly on the scene to help rescue a stranded driver who had stalled his car in the middle of the rising water.
The man was quickly released with firefighters then working towards making sure surrounding houses and businesses did not suffer from any water damage.
Doctor Roshan Mendis, who operates Parkway Medical Centre, said the front yard of his practice had suffered damage.
“It was like a river was flowing through the front yard,” Dr Mendis said.
“They had to break the fence because it was blocking the path of the water. It couldn’t go anywhere.”
He said patients and staff were unable to use the centre’s car park on Monday and had to walk through mud and water to get access.
“They opened up the road at about 3pm on Monday.”
South East Water spokeswoman Fiona Fernandes said it took some time to locate the valves and shut down the water main.
“The valves had become flooded. Tens of thousands of litres of water was lost from the burst main,” Ms Fernandes said.
“All damage caused by the burst water main will be repaired.
“We have removed debris from where the water main burst and top soiled-seeded the ground.
“The site was cleaned up yesterday (Wednesday) and a temporary footpath has been developed with the final reinstatement to be completed within the next two weeks,” she said.
She said the large amount of water that was lost was disappointing – particularly after recent dry periods. “We recognise that as a large water authority we have a responsibility to minimise water loss from our system. Together with our residential, commercial and industrial customers, we have made a commitment to reduce water loss,” Ms Fernandes said.