SINGAPORE \u2013 Some residents at a Sin Ming condominium were greeted by brown and yellowish water flowing from their taps on New Year\u2019s Day, following a pipe leak near the junction of Sin Ming Avenue and Upper Thomson Road.<\/p>\n
National water agency PUB said it was alerted to the incident at 9am on Jan 1.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe immediately deployed our service crew on site to trace the source of the leak and commence repair works. Water supply to homes and businesses in the vicinity was not affected,\u201d it said in response to queries from The Straits Times.<\/p>\n
A PUB spokesman said the agency is investigating the cause of the pipe leak.<\/p>\n
Residents of the nearby Flame Tree Park condo had reported that discoloured water was flowing from their taps. This was likely due to resuspension of mineral sediments in the water pipe network due to the leak, PUB said.<\/p>\n
Repair works are ongoing and are expected to be completed by\u00a0Jan 2, it added.<\/p>\n
A 42-year-old doctor who lives in the condo told ST that at around 2am, his wife noticed the water in the toilet bowl was brown even after flushing.<\/p>\n
At around 8am, he saw discoloured water flowing from the kitchen and toilet taps.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt definitely affected my plans for the public holiday. With the brownish discolouration of the water, we didn\u2019t dare to shower with the water or do our laundry,\u201d said the doctor, who declined to be named.<\/p>\n They bought bottled water rather than using their water dispenser for the day.<\/p>\n \u201cWith a young kid at home, we did not want to take any chances,\u201d said the doctor, who has a five-year-old daughter.<\/p>\n He added that he was worried about potential sinkholes as a burst water pipe had preceded the sinkhole at Tanjong Katong Road earlier in July.<\/p>\n When ST arrived at the condo around 5.30pm, two trucks and a lorry were parked on a lane at the road junction, which was cordoned off with safety cones.<\/p>\n A PUB sign indicated that urgent repair of water works was in progress. Part of the road junction was streaked with water.<\/p>\n Workers were seen redirecting traffic. The lane remained cordoned off as at 6.30pm.<\/p>\n A female resident in her 50s said her unit was not affected, but that she knew of the incident as the condo\u2019s management had asked residents in the morning to check their water supply.<\/p>\n In a message to residents sent at 10.45am, the management said it had received feedback that some units in the condo were affected by yellowish water.<\/p>\n That afternoon, PUB deployed a water wagon and distributed water bags to provide temporary supply for affected residents.<\/p>\n The condo\u2019s managing agent was concurrently flushing the estate\u2019s water pipes and tanks, said the PUB spokesman.<\/p>\n A message sent to residents in the evening said the water wagon would remain in the estate till midnight.<\/p>\n [[nid:711832]]<\/p>\n This <\/em>article<\/em><\/a> was first published in <\/em>The Straits Times<\/em><\/a>. Permission required for reproduction.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n