Water service interruption

Mum and daughter filling up a water bottle

Interruptions to water services can be due to planned or unplanned works or water projects. Find out how you can prepare for interruption of water services.

Interruption of water services

An interruption in your water service may be due to:

  • planned or unplanned works such as hydrant repair or water leak
  • water projects.

For up to date information regarding water and sewerage interruptions view our City Alerts page.

Find out more about scheduled projects and water leaks.

While we will always work quickly to restore your water service, it's always a good idea to prepare for any kind of water outage. We recommend having approximately four litres of water per person per day set aside for drinking.

Planned water outages

If a water outage is planned for your area, you should receive a letter indicating the expected type of work and timing it will take.

Useful preparations for a water shutdown include:

  • placing drinking water in your fridge
  • filling a tub or bucket with water to use for toilet flushing. Or make alternative arrangements to access a toilet away from your home if necessary. Pour water from the bucket into your toilet bowl after use, but only flush when absolutely necessary. Only lift the tub or bucket if you believe you can safely do so
  • using anti-bacterial hand sanitiser for hand washing.

Water discolouration following water interruption

In some instances, your water may become discoloured after a water interruption. This can be due to air and debris entering the pipes.

If you have discoloured water, we recommend:

  • don't drink discoloured water
  • do not run hot water immediately
  • run cool water from the tap furthest from the water meter for several minutes until the water runs clear. Do this before any other water-using device is operated.
  • avoid washing laundry until the taps have been flushed, to avoid staining from water discolouration
  • discard any ice cubes that were automatically produced in your fridge or freezer during the water interruption.

Should water remain dirty more than 10 minutes after you have completed the above activities, call 07 5667 5801 or 1300 000 928 as we may need to investigate further.

For more information about water discolouration, visit the water quality page.

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