Water left to gush away

By Kath Gannaway
WANDIN residents Ron and Chris Harper have accused Yarra Valley Water of taking its eye off the ball – water!
The residents of Bailey Grove are backed by Shire of Yarra Ranges mayor Tim Heenan when they say they are astounded that a broken water pipe on the nature strip, which was spurting water five feet in the air, was not fixed for 55 hours despite repeated calls to the water supplier.
Mr Harper said he resorted to calling Cr Heenan on Sunday afternoon when, despite inspections by Yarra Valley Water contractors the pipe was still gushing.
“Every time we or neighbours rang they were just saying it had been recorded, they were very busy and that because it was a private line they were doing it as a courtesy,” Mr Harper said.
The Harpers purchased the property a year ago but said neighbours say they have never in 20 years been asked to fix the line themselves, despite several breaks and leaks even in recent times.
“This is not about who owns the lines, it is about the water and Yarra Valley Water having enough staff to fix these problems,” Mr Harper said.
He challenged Yarra Valley Water to change their mindset.
“They don’t do water personally,” he said. “It’s just a business they are in. They need to take ownership at a much higher level than they do.”
Mr Harper said the reason they were given for the delay was that crews were dealing with eight major incidents.
“That suggests to me there is water spurting out of eight mains in Yarra Ranges and that means they don’t have enough staff to deal with it,” he said.
Mrs Harper said to see water just running down the gutter when everyone is doing their utmost to save water was unbelievably frustrating.
“Why do you have to go to the mayor or threaten to ring a newspaper before you get action,” she said.
Cr Heenan said he rang the same Yarra Valley Water reporting line but was put through to another level. Workmen arrived to fix the pipe not long after Cr Heenan’s call.
“They are saying that the weekend puts an extra workload on but if that’s the case, then put more people on to cover it,” Cr Heenan said.
He said water companies are employing a lot more people to check on illegal water use and posed the question of whether it might be more proactive to increase maintenance crews to deal with leaks and breaks.
“There is a public perception that Yarra Valley Water would not allow water pipes to remain like that for more than a few hours… not 50 to 60 hours,” Cr Heenan said.
The Mail contacted Yarra Valley Water but was unable to get a response before going to press.