Sydney residents told to save water after major main bursts

Hundreds of thousands of residents across Sydney’s lower and upper north shore have been urged to stop washing their cars and take shorter showers to conserve water after a major main burst, flooding critical equipment.

Sydney Water said the repairs would continue into Friday after the main broke on Wednesday night at the West Ryde pumping station, which is the main distributor of water to about 50 suburbs in the city’s north.

More than 250,000 homes are affected, stretching from Mosman in the east to Rydalmere in the west, and St Ives in the north. It has limited the amount of drinking water that can be transferred to local reservoirs to meet demand.

Social media footage shows water surging over the roof of the West Ryde pumping station. Sydney Water said the main burst after a pipe failed, flooding electrical equipment.

Managing director Darren Cleary could not give a “definitive time frame” as to when the main would be fixed, or how long residents would be affected.

“What we’ve got here is damage to electrical equipment on one of our most critical assets, and that’s why it’s very difficult … We’re still assessing exactly the full extent of the damage, and the repairs that need to be undertaken,” he said.

“We already have one pump back up and running. Progressively over the next day or so, we’ll bring more pumps back online, and we’ll provide a further update tomorrow about the situation.”

To reduce demand, residents have been urged to cut back on non-essential use by taking shorter showers, using half-flush options on toilets, and avoiding hosing down driveways and hard surfaces, watering gardens or washing cars.

“While water supply is continuing, this incident has made it harder for us to move water where it’s needed across the north shore. We’re asking customers to help by reducing non-essential water use so we can maintain supply to the community while we carry out repairs,” Cleary said.

“I want to reassure our customers that your drinking water remains clean and safe. We continue to closely monitor water quality across the network.

“Our crews are on-site and working as quickly and safely as possible to restore normal operations.”

NSW Water Minister Rose Jackson said while no one was without water, residents should “go a bit easy”.

“I know this kind of thing is frustrating, especially when it comes out of nowhere. Thanks for doing your part while it’s sorted,” she said.

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