WATER MAIN BURSTS.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20418, 24 September 1934, Page 7

WATER MAIN BURSTS.

Sections Flooded in Mersey Street. Gardens in several houses in Mersey Street, near Westminster Street, St Albans, were flooded to a depth of two or three inches when a water main at a fire hydrant burst yesterday morning. The water spread as far as a house facing Forfar Street, nearly a block away. The main burst at nine o’clock, the force of the water throwing the iron cap covering the plug into the air. So great was the volume from the 4in main that the side-channels were unable to cope with the water, and. according to residents, fully half of the flow poured on to nearby sections. The covering of the side-channels would not make any difference, and the flooding would still have taken place, said Mr J. Cullens, engineer to the Christchurch Drainage Board, this morning. The trouble probably occurred through the crossing culverts l>eing unable to carry the excess water -»o.. He thought it would happen with any burst main. In laying out side-channelling, no provision could be made for pure accidents. Most of the streets where bad flooding had taken place had been attended to, he said. Where the storm water outlet or sewer was gorged, flooding was always liable to take place, and if the channelling in Mersey Street had been covered the flooding might have been worse, as the water might not have been able to reach the channelling quickly enough. Residents in the locality complained of the time taken in stopping the flow. Jt was stated that if it had been attended to within a reasonable time residents would not have suffered inconvenience and loss. One resident telephoned to the department of the Christchurch City Council which dealt with complaints of this nature, and he had been told that a man was on his way to attend to the damage. That was at nine o’clock, but it was, not until 11.50 o’clock that a man had arrived to turn off the water.