Water Corporation investigates low pressures in parts of Boulder; says burst water main caused recent outage

The Water Corporation says it is investigating reports of low pressure in parts of Boulder but ruled out it having any connection to the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder’s recycled water shortage. A Water Corp. spokesperson said the team was investigating reports of low water pressure in South Kalgoorlie and Boulder during peak demand periods. They said testing had been conducted at individual properties as well as other areas of the scheme. “While the issue is not believed to be widespread, investigations are ongoing,” they said. “This is in no way related to issues regarding the supply of treated wastewater for irrigation from the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder’s recycled water scheme.” The spokesperson also claimed a burst water main was the cause of a recent water outage which left 21 homes with no water for almost 20 hours on Monday night. The spokesperson said the crew responded to a burst main on Brittania Place “late in the day” on January 13, with crews working into the evening to restore water to the 21 homes. However, due to the “complexity and location of the burst”, repairs could not be safely completed overnight and work resumed on Tuesday morning with water restored before 2pm. The spokesperson said bottled water was available to impacted customers during the outage. It was a difficult night and day for 86-year-old Johnston Street resident Frances Thomas who said the water outage meant she was unable to use her air-conditioning unit. “It got very humid even though I had my air-conditioner going, and I couldn’t work out what (the problem) was,” she said. “I went to the tap to fill up a water bottle . . . and I had no water.” Ms Thomas said she received no communication from Water Corp. during the outage.