EMERGENCIES AND MAINTENANCE

Emergencies / Service Difficulties (bursts, leaks and spills)

Central Highlands Water:

• will attend to unplanned interruptions (bursts, leaks and sewage spills) 24 hours 7 days.
  

• maintains a 24 hour emergency and service difficulties assistance call centre Ph:1392837

• has a general enquiries contact centre (during business hours) by calling (03) 5320 3111

• aims to restore all interruptions to water supply or sewerage services within a maximum period of 5 hours after it has been notified of an interruption.

• will attend on-site within 2 hours of notification of a burst, leak, spill or blockage.

• will take into account the impact on customers, others affected, property and the environment when responding to emergencies / service difficulties.

• aims to minimise the inconvenience of sewage spills by promptly cleaning and disinfecting affected areas. In some circumstance this will also involve diverting or containing spills for later eduction.

• has a Customer Charter that contains additional information on approved service standards and guaranteed service levels.

• has a Customer Relations Officer (Ph: 1800 444 553) to assist where customers are unable to have their matters satisfactorily attended to at the first point of contact.

Planned Interruptions

Central Highlands Water endeavours to minimise planned interruptions, however sometimes they are unavoidable to enable maintenance or augmentation works to proceed.

As part of the planning and scheduling for a planned interruption Central Highlands Water will take into consideration the needs of the affected customers.

Central Highlands water will provide customers a minimum of 2 days written notification of a planned interruption (4 days for registered special needs customers).

Emergency Supplies of Drinking Water

If there is a planned interruption to the water supply or a major burst, Central Highlands Water will endeavour to identify customers who require water for public health, occupational health and safety or business continuation purposes and make arrangements for temporary water supplies to be provided. This could involve the delivery of bottled or tankered water.

If an emergency supply is required please contact Central Highlands Water on 1392837.

Characteristics of Burst and Leaks

Burst water mains are characterised by one or more key factors:

• Sudden loss of water pressure

• Water may suddenly become dirty or have irregular pressure

• An unexplained hissing sound

• Very loud sudden 'hammering' sound in water pipes

• A persistent damp or unusually green area on the lawn or nature strip

• A continually damp pothole on the road during dry weather

• Water leaking up from a metal valve cover on the road
  

High Water Usage

Customers with high water usage may have a leaking pipe or appliance. To check for leaks customers should:

1. Turn off all water appliances and taps and take a meter reading. DO NOT turn off the stop tap on the meter.

2. Read the meter again after several hours, or preferably early the next day. If the reading has moved, it is likely that there is a leak on the property. Customers will generally need the services of a qualified plumber to help locate and fix the leak.

3. Customer are encouraged to call Central Highlands Water on (03) 5320 3111 if further assistance is required.

Service Pipe Maintenance

The service pipe is the pipe that connects the large water main in the street to the water meter. Central Highlands Water maintains service pipes, subject to the limitations and exceptions listed under Clause 11 of its Customer Charter. Generally this includes accepting full responsibility for a service pipe except where it is:

• Larger than 50mm diameter

• A fire service

• Part of a private extension

• A common service inside a property (eg. body corporate)

• Galvanised iron and needs to be replaced

Where a galvanised iron service pipe to a single residential dwelling needs to be replaced a customer’s contribution is limited to the payment of the first $500 of the cost.