Water main burst site 'a gigantic mess'

Three weeks after a water main burst in Blackwall Rd near the corner of Railway St, a Central Coast Council employee has described the site as a "gigantic mess that is a disaster waiting to happen".

The employee, who did not wish to be named, said the situation was reminiscent of "Piles Creek".

(Explain Piles Creek)

"There is still at least one Central Coast councillor who remembers Piles Creek and the issues that resulted from poor maintenance and a lack of urgency," the person said.

"There is a giant hole under it all with light poles being held up by nothing, agri-props holding up building awnings and ten centimetres of concrete over a giant void with a tangle of electricity and water services," the employee said.

"Think about how many people walk and drive by this area on a daily basis and reflect back on previous incidents throughout the years and ask where Council's duty of care lies".

"People's lives could be at risk here from building collapses, sink holes, falling light poles and numerous trip hazards on a major thoroughfare to the transport interchange.

"Council has a duty of care to protect the public and when main areas of infrastructure are damaged they need to be repaired as soon as possible and not just ignored in the hope they will go away.

"If this happened in Terrigal, it would be fixed immediately."

However, deputy mayor Cr Chris Holstein, who represents the Peninsula, denied there was any danger.

"There is no sink hole," said.

"When the pipe burst, it gouged a fair portion of soil from under the surface," Cr Hosltein said.

"The final work is not being done yet because Council staff are making sure the substructure to maintain the pipe is adequate," he said.

"They are working on it.

"It is a priority but describing it as a sink hole brings connotations of, heaven-forbid, everything falling into the hole.

"We will have to rip up part of the pavement but it is all a matter of safety until we can get in and fix it right," Cr Holstein said.

Cr Richard Mehrtens said he believed staff had worked very hard to make the area safe following the water main bursting.

"A lot of the land under the pavement has been undermined," Cr Mehrtens said.

"Pretty well everything beneath the paving was sand, so when the water main burst, it blew up all the sand onto Blackwall Rd, and as a result there was no sand left under the pavement,' he said.

However, Cr Mehrtens said staff had "no timeline for when that will be fully made good".

"My concern is we have had this particular break shortly after another burst late last year further along Brisbane Water Dr so what is the condition of the rest of the mains and what is being done to make sure they are up to standard?

"Councillors have asked for a review of all water assets with particular attention given to the Peninsula because of several recent ground water incidents.

"Council staff have assured me the Blackwall Rd site is safe and that we have a better understanding of what the infrastructure under the road looks like but two mains breaks in a couple of months is not a good look," he said.

SOURCE:

Interview, 17 Apr 2018

Anonymous Council employee

Interview, 18 Apr 2018

Chris Holstein, Central Coast Council

Interview, 18 Apr 2018

Richard Mehrtens, Central Coast Council

Reporter: Jackie Pearson