Over the weekend Lithgow experienced a water outage that was unprecedented in the history of this Council.
On Thursday 9 October, a leak occurred in the 450mm main trunk water line and works commenced to depressurise this line to ensure it was safe to repair.
The safety preparation included stopping water flowing into the line from the Oakey Park Water Treatment Plant (WTP) and the immediate reservoir.
On Friday morning once the 450mm main trunk water line was safe to work on, the Council commenced excavation works to repair this line. At around midday on Friday, close to where the excavation works had commenced, the 100mm high pressure line burst. This 100mm high pressure line runs alongside the 450mm main trunk line.
The water bursting from the 100mm line was of such force that it blasted a large hole through the concrete wall of the main trunk water line.
Council staff worked through the afternoon and evening to repair both of these lines. The 100mm line was sealed by 6pm and the 450mm main trunk line was repaired and sealed by 10pm.
In reducing the pressure for safe repair of the main trunk line, the WTP had been shut down and the whole of the main trunk line between the WTP and the receiving reservoir had been drained.
When the high-pressure line burst this water line, which was supplying water to Lithgow while the main trunk line was under repair, ceased providing water to customers.
Due to reduced water levels within the network, as a result of the main trunk line being drained, the water that remained within the local Lithgow network was very quickly used by customers.
Staff worked throughout Friday evening to get the WTP operational to provide water to the network. Significant difficulties were experienced in bringing the WTP back online and operational.
The council connected to the Fish River Supply early Saturday morning. This commenced bringing a consistent flow into the Lithgow network. At this stage, Council expected that the WTP would be operational on Saturday and combined with the Fish River Supply would refill the Lithgow network and provide some service to customers.
As Saturday progressed, it became apparent that water supply in Council's mains lines and reservoirs had been completely depleted, and about 60% of households across Lithgow township were without a water supply.
Once the scale of the outage was confirmed, Council activated a Business Continuity Plan, including;
- Sourcing certified potable water suppliers to safely transport and pump drinking water back into the local lines replenishing the Lithgow network.
- In accordance with Council's Local Emergency Management Plan the Hospital, Nursing Homes, and Dialysis Patients were prioritised for water supply.
- Opening public shower facilities at Tony Luchetti Sportsground and Marjorie Jackson Oval and providing free entry to the JM Robson Aquatic Centre, which also includes shower facilities.
- Establishing public water collection points and activating a Water Outage Hotline for residents unable to drive or collect water due to health or mobility issues.
- Coordinating with volunteers and local businesses to help distribute water to those in need.
- Council sincerely thanks all agencies, volunteers, staff, contractors, and community groups who worked tirelessly to support the community during this event.
A detailed review of the outage will be conducted, and a report with recommendations will be presented to the 1 December Council Meeting.
