Water supply to about 20 homes in Lavender area restored; underground pipe burst on Feb 1

SINGAPORE – Water supply to several households in the Lavender area that had been disrupted owing to a burst underground water pipe on Feb 1 has been restored.

In an update on Feb 2, national water agency PUB said the water supply to the affected households was restored fully at 2.45am.

“Repairs are still ongoing as excavation works are required to replace the affected section of the water pipe,” it added.

It also said that it has deployed auxiliary police officers to help with traffic management as the repair works occupy part of the road at the Housing Board carpark next to Block 811 French Road.

On Feb 1, one of the affected residents, part-time GrabFood delivery rider Ramdhan Sab’an, said he was heading to his home at Block 811 French Road at about 9pm when he found water gushing from the ground near his block.

Mr Ramdhan, 39, who lives on the second floor, said: “I asked my wife to check whether we still had water at home, but she said the supply was cut off.”

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.

A burst underground water pipe caused water supply to be disrupted to about 20 households in Block 801, Block 802 and Block 811 in French Road.ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY

Responding to queries from The Straits Times, 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 difficulty walking.

“For him to go to the toilet and not be able to clean himself is a big issue for him,” Mr Reiz said.

Water run-off from the burst water pipe in French Road caused certain areas to be flooded.ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY

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 said in a Facebook post that 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 is investigating the cause of the incident.

Repair works on the damaged pipe were completed on Feb 2 at about 9.30pm, the agency said on Feb 3.

Mr Ramdhan Sab’an, 39, collecting water near Block 811 French Road, where he lives, after a burst underground pipe disrupted his water supply.ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY

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