Case Study – Burst Water Main Floods a Tullamarine Retirement Village

An existing client in Tullamarine, Melbourne recently found themselves needing an emergency plumber when they realised their mains water supply had burst and was flooding.

They first called their retail water authority thinking it may have been a fault on their side but after Yarra Valley Water attended the site, our client was told the burst was located on the owners side of the meter and they would need to call a licensed plumber to fix the fault.

Yarra Valley Water turned the water supply off at the meter to stop the loss of water. Compounding the urgency of this situation was the fact this was a retirement village, within excess of 200 homes effected when the mains water supply was turned off.

As is often the case with plumbing emergencies, they occur out of normal business hours and a response is required immediately. That’s why Essendon Plumbing Services offers a 24/7, 365 days a year emergency response and we guarantee we’ll respond within the hour.

Plumber arrived within 30 minutes

Our emergency Melbourne plumber was on site within 30 minutes and was able to quickly identify where the burst had occurred, as there was a considerable amount of water in the area. It was helpful he had previously worked on the cold water mains because it meant he had an idea of where the below ground pipework ran.

Prior to Excavation

Prior to digging up the water pipe, it’s critical that we carry out a ‘dial before you dig’ enquiry to make sure there are no other services in the area being excavated that could cause damage to infrastructure or harm to our plumbers or the general public. The plumber also identified, via onsite service drawings, what could be expected in the area of excavation. Once he was satisfied there was nothing in the area of excavation, he could proceed with digging up the pipe.

Excavating and repairing the burst water pipe

Due to the location of the water pipe, it was decided that hand excavation was the most appropriate means of exposing the pipe and would cause minimal amount of damage to the area. The pipe was located around 800mm below the ground and the cause was a PVC poly cap had blown off a fitting. It was determined that rather than installing a new cap, and this burst possibly happening again, we would install a bolted blank flange eliminating the possibility.

The water was then turned back on and the system was bled to remove any air and impurities from the pipe work. We checked for any leaks then the excavation was backfilled, and the site was cleaned. New topsoil was installed to the lawn area and mulch around the plants before removing all rubbish from the area.

Before the plumber left, he checked with the facility manager to make sure they were happy with the outcome. Once it was determined that all parties were happy, the plumber loaded up the rubbish and left the site looking like we had never been.

Contact Us

We at Essendon Plumbing Services have an experienced team of licensed Master plumbing professionals ready to find and fix your plumbing problems. Whether it’s residential, commercial, strata or body corporate, if you need a fast and reliable plumber in Melbourne, call us now on 1300 231 976.