KEY POINTS:
Water, water everywhere, and not a Metrowater contractor in sight.
That's the experience of readers who responded to a story last week about water spilling from a broken hydrant in Penrose.
They are unimpressed at the wastage, given the rising cost of water. Metrowater yesterday acknowledged the company's response to leaks was not good enough and said a new contractor would start next month.
Wilma Madgwick
I had noticed a leak on the roadside adjacent to 138 Church St, Otahuhu, for a couple of weeks when driving past.
After this time I phoned Metrowater on May 28 and was told it was probably a leaking valve.
The main water pipe runs through this area. As nothing appeared to have been done, I phoned again on June 6 and was told that this would be attended to but they needed to advise the local residents of a shutdown. So far nothing has been attended to.
Trish Myers
I work at Ewington Ave, Mt Eden, off Dominion Rd, just behind the Eden Quarter shops. About a month ago, water began spewing out at quite a volume from a metal lid marked 'Fire Hydrant' on the roadside footpath in our driveway, which is quite wide as we are a medium-large complex (alcohol and drug rehabilitation programme) and have quite a bit of vehicular traffic.
I know at least two phone calls, maybe more, about two to three weeks ago were made by management staff to Metrowater regarding this problem. The amount of water gushing out has subsided quite substantially to a much smaller leak. I also phoned a few days ago as I was also concerned about our water rates going up and all this water being wasted.
I was told the problem was that Metrowater had to apply to Auckland City Council for consents to "close the road" etc, to do the repairs and it is this process that is taking the time.
Meanwhile the water is still being wasted! This is a lot of bureaucratic nonsense.
Lorraine Fairest
Last year there was a leaking water main for months and months on the road outside the Te Ara Poutama Building in Wellesley St. Every time we phoned up, their response was, "There is someone on their way".
Traci McKinstry
We had a leaking water main in the driveway of our work premises. First advised Metrowater on May 3. Four phone calls over a period of five days resulted in nothing.
On May 7 the contractors finally turned up to look at it. They did the repair on May 11 but forgot to cover with a steel plate and the very next morning a truck drove in over the top and it broke again. This time not a little leak, but a bubbling brook. This resulted in about 10 more phone calls to Metrowater over three weeks.
Finally, after heavy rain on June 2 the brook turned into a lake and suddenly the boys turned up to do the repair.
We supply all the hire equipment that Metrowater's contractors use to fix all the leaks in Auckland, and as I stressed to them on several occasions, "How on Earth can you expect to get all the leaks in Auckland fixed if your contractors cannot get in my gate to collect the equipment they need to fix them!"
In defence of the contractors, they do a great job under a huge amount of pressure.
Miriam Dunningham
There has been a water leak on the corner of Clouston St and Riddell Rd, Glendowie, since at least early May.
A neighbour rang Metrowater immediately he noticed the leak. At that time it was more like seepage than a full-blown leak. Three weeks ago it turned into a constant flow, like a tap turned on full. We and other neighbours rang Metrowater as soon as this flow started. They said it would be looked at within 24 hours, but it wasn't. We rang them several times more over a two-week period with no action on their part.
Meanwhile, the water continued to flow and run wasted down the gutter, 24 hours a day. Workmen finally came to repair it after two weeks. That was over a week ago and now they have gone away and left hired barriers around the site.
Nothing more has been done and the barriers get shoved around at night by young idiots in cars. It looks like the workmen have forgotten they left them there.
My husband and I smiled wryly that water charges should go up. What's new? The customer has to pay for the inefficiency of Metrowater and its contractors.
