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Why repairs may not be done straight away

• Working together to prevent leaks
• Sydney water's leak reduction activities
• What causes leaks and breaks
• How to report a leak
• What happens after a leak is reported
• Why repairs may not be done straight away

With saving water a major priority during drought, Sydney Water's policy is to send a crew to inspect all reported leaks within 24 hours. An assessment is then made to determine priority for repair. This enables minor leaks to be held over to another day if necessary to allow more urgent repair work to proceed.

However, there are other circumstances in which repair work cannot be undertaken straight away:

• Often, the source of a leak is not at the site where water appears on the surface. Leaking water can travel some distance before emerging, and to locate the actual source of the leak can require sending extra crews and special equipment.
• Sydney Water takes the needs of customers into account before proceeding with repair work. For many major customers, water supply is critical to the operation of their business. Where it is necessary to temporarily halt water supply to undertake repairs, this work is scheduled according to the needs of those affected so that impacts to businesses are minimised. Our Customer Contract requires us to give seven days notice for commercial customers and two days for residential customers before interruption of water supply in non-emergencies.
• A large proportion of the leaks that are reported turn out not to be the responsibility of Sydney Water - for example, leaks in residential or commercial private pipelines. Where possible the owner is notified and a private plumber should be contacted to repair these leaks.
• Where underground pipes are located beneath a tree or structure, certain approvals may need to be sought before repairs can proceed. Other factors such as a parked car over a leak can also impact the time taken to investigate repairs.
• If a main road needs to be temporarily closed to fix a leak, Sydney Water needs to liaise with the Roads and Traffic Authority regarding a suitable time for the closure, to avoid disrupting peak hour traffic.
• Additional resources are required to fix a leak due to a variety of reasons such as access to the site and other equipment needed.