Underground pipe bursts disrupt water supply to homes in Lavender
Several residents in a housing estate in the Lavender area experienced a disruption to their water supply after a nearby underground pipe burst on Feb 1.
One of them, part-time Grabfood delivery rider Ramdhan Sab’an, said he was heading to his home in Block 811 French Road at about 9pm when he found water gushing from the ground near his block.
He said: “I asked my wife to check whether still we had water at home, but she said the supply was cut off.”
Mr Ramdhan, 39, who lives on the second floor, said the water supply to his home was yet to be restored at 11.30pm.
In video footage seen by The Straits Times, water can be seen gushing from the ground near a block of flats. The water run-off can also be seen flooding a section of the nearby road.
Responding to queries from The Straits Times, national water agency PUB said water supply to about 20 households in Block 801, Block 802 and Block 811 in French Road was disrupted.
Among those affected was resident Reiz Kartikeyan, 48, who was mending a pipe in his toilet when the water supply stopped.
The food and beverage worker first thought he was responsible for the disruption, but when his neighbours also reported that they had no water, he realised it was a larger problem.
Mr Reiz said some residents even bought bottled mineral water, in case the water supply did not resume soon.
He said: “I went down to find water gushing from the ground. The water was about knee-high.”
He added that he was worried about his father, who had difficulties walking. “For him to go to the toilet and not be able to clean himself is a big issue for him,” he said.
The water supply started to return at about 10.20pm, but it remained intermittent, he added.
By 11.17pm, workers had barricaded the affected area and were seen digging the ground where the pipe had burst.
Jalan Besar GRC MP Denise Phua in a Facebook post said a resident had alerted her to the incident at about 8pm.
She said: “I’m grateful to everyone for jumping into action despite it being Chinese New Year season.” Works to fix the burst pipe were still ongoing at 11.50pm, she added.
PUB said a water wagon was deployed to provide temporary water supply to affected residents.
PUB is investigating the cause of the incident.
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