UPDATE:
After widespread water main breaks throughout the Lithgow area from Friday, March 15 to Thursday, March 21, Lithgow City Council is hoping the problem has been solved.
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Water and waste water director Daniel Buckens said most of the breaks have been repaired but there had been other failures in the system this morning (Thursday, March 21).
"We are not 100 percent sure what has occurred, but it has somewhat settled from the weekend and we are hoping there will be no more issues," he said.
Repairs have taken place on multiple water mains including one located on Main Street at which the post supporting an awning had to be removed to access the work.
"We have standard designs to implement now and [the Lithgow City Council infrastructure team is] going to take care of putting that back in place," he said.
According to Mr Buckens, each water main break has had multiple causes; it was not a single issue.
"It's possible the awning over the top on main street was not helping the loading on top of the pipe," he said.
With water services also breaking around town, Mr Buckens said the pipes were old and prone to failure, as they got to the age at which they would get pinholes and "just let go".
"We got a few of those which could be random or climatic, as the drought tends to dry pipes out which causes shifts and issues," he said.
"The change of seasons also presents problems which sounds bizarre but is something we will probably see again come Spring."
Earlier:
Water has been restored to businesses and homes around Lithgow's Main Street and Mort Street following a water main break, but ongoing water issues are still expected to cause problems in other parts of town.
According to Lithgow City Council's director of water and waste water Daniel Buckens, the Main Street system is re-filling and water pressure will increase over the next few hours.
"Residents and businesses should see normal pressure return around 6pm," he said.
Mr Buckens said the Council has not been able to locate the source of the other water problems around town.
"We are not 100 per cent sure who will have water," he said.
Mr Buckens advised residents who had low water pressure, or none at all, by 7pm to contact Lithgow City Council. Staff will try to locate and fix the issue.
"With a fairly high number of breaks over the past week and weekend the system is under some pressure at the moment," he said.
Lithgow Public School was greatly affected on Tuesday morning, with no running water all morning for their students. The business fronting the Main Street break, the Chinese Palace Restaurant, was closed while some neighbouring businesses shut their doors due to the dirt and water on the footpath, which was causing the pavers to be slippery underfoot.
Tuesday, March 19:
Lithgow properties will have low water pressure or none at all following a water main break.
Lithgow City Council stated a break had occurred in "an area of its reticulation that services the areas of Main Street and Mort Street, from Bridge Street to Lithgow Street".
Surrounding areas may also experience reduced water pressure or no water at all, Council warned.
Residents are reporting low water pressure and discoloured water in the Littleton area as well.
"Council at this time cannot determine the extent of the break and therefore cannot advise of the time that it may take to complete repairs to resume normal service," a statement said, which was released on Tuesday morning.
READ MORE:
Dirty water may run through the system following the return to normal service, Council warned.
"Before using the water for domestic purposes, residents are advised to run a tap to ensure the water is clean and any dirt released into the system has been flushed," the Council statement urged.
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