Farrer Park residents’ water supply cut off for about 5 hours after pipe leak

Pipe leak in Farrer Park affects more than 100 households, road closed to traffic

Several Farrer Park residents had to get water from water wagons when the supply to their homes was cut off on Sunday (1 Sept) morning.

This was due to a pipe leak on Tessensohn Road that caused water to flood the road.

Puddles of water, ‘fountains’ form on Tessensohn Road

A video of the scene, posted on the Complaint Singapore Facebook group, showed that deep puddles of water had formed on Tessensohn Road.

The water ostensibly came from beneath the surface as it could be seen gushing out from a number of spots on the road.

Part of the pavement even resembled a water feature as two lines of “fountains” had emerged.

Workers and emergency vehicles were seen at the scene, including a Quick Response Team from national water agency PUB.

A private-hire car driver told Shin Min Daily News that she spotted the ponding on Tessensohn Road when she passed by at around 4am.

A 55-year-old cleaner at the Leong San See Temple, located on the nearby Race Course Road, said water flowed out from the ground outside the temple’s back door and was still flowing as of 7am.

The water also spread to shophouses nearby, he added.

Service crew dispatched after PUB alerted to pipe leak at 4.30am

At 7.35am, Mr Alvin Tan, an MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC, posted on Facebook that a water pipe had “burst” at Tessensohn Road.

This had affected the water supply, he said.

A few minutes later, he updated that the PUB would deploy a water wagon for affected residents.

In a Facebook post later that day, PUB said it was alerted to a pipe leak at 4.30am near 65 Tessensohn Road, a shophouse along the road.

A service crew was dispatched to isolate it.

Pipe leak affects Farrer Park residents

Due to the pipe leak, the water supply to several HDB blocks in the area was disrupted, PUB said.

More than 100 households were affected, Shin Min reported.

PUB thus sent water wagons to three blocks: 47 Owen Road, 49 Dorset Road and 9 Gloucester Road.

Residents were able to get temporary water supply from these locations by filling up buckets.

Water supply restored at 9.15am: PUB

PUB said water supply to affected residents was restored at 9.15am, about five hours after the leak started. Repairs are ongoing, it added.

Mr Tan thanked PUB, Tanjong Pagar Town Council and Moulmein-Cairnhill grassroots volunteers for their “swift and decisive actions”.

He credited the grassroots team for alerting PUB to the specific blocks where water supply was affected, going door-to-door to check on seniors, and helping residents carry water buckets up to their flats.

The town council team helped by opening up the common taps in the void deck to give access to the reserve water tanks, he said.

Farrer Park pipe leak also damaged road

PUB said the pipe leak also caused some damage to Tessensohn Road.

It’s working with the Land Transport Authority to assess the road’s condition, added PUB. The road is closed to traffic for now.

The road closure covers a large stretch of Tessensohn Road, which extends from Balestier Road to Rangoon Road, in both directions.

PUB apologised for the inconvenience caused, saying it will update motorists when the road is reopened.

The agency is also investigating the cause of the leak.

Also read: Water gushes out of NEWater pipe leak outside *SCAPE, PUB investigating incident

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Featured image adapted from Complaint Singapore on Facebook and PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency on Facebook.