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THE Water Department is keeping an eye on the distribution mains leading to Ashton Tower in Kolombong to try and ease the supply problems which the 350-plus occupants have been experiencing over the past week.

The agency also urged the management company (MC) for the condominiums to step-up efforts to maintain “the internal reticulation” as it suspects that irregularities involving these fixtures might be contributing to these difficulties.

Three consumers contacted Hotline separately since Monday about the dry taps in their units which were respectively on the fifth, tenth and nineteenth floor of the 28-storey building. 

Some had been filling up their containers from a hose – in the common area near the main entrance to the Tower – and carrying this supply back up to their premises.

Others had been depending on the goodwill of their friends and relatives, with whom they had been temporarily staying or whose homes they had been visiting to take a bath or fetch water. 

Each of these unit-owners knew of neighbours who had checked into a hotel or “airbnb” shortly after the water woes at the Tower began.

Both the agency and MC were asked about what had been transpiring at the property.

A Department spokesman said it did not find anything amiss with the distribution mains servicing the condominiums.

“An inspection was made of the pipes leading to the bulk-meter for Ashton Tower earlier this week,” he said on November 27. 

“Our technicians noted that the supply was reaching the device. The water-pressure, at the time, was observed to be acceptable.”

He said they also double-checked on the situation at a primary school and neighbourhood in the vicinity.

“Treated water was found to be available at these properties. Owing to this, we believe that there might be a problem with one of the pipes on the grounds for the condominiums.” 

A spokeswoman for the MC confirmed this suspicion, saying that a “major pipe burst” was discovered near the two storage tanks for the Tower on November 21.

“By the next day, our maintenance team had yet to isolate the leak as the affected pipe was located about six feet underground,” she said. “To make matters worse, we noticed that the reserves in our tanks were about to run out.”

She said the firm made the Department aware of the water crisis and appealed to have a supply delivered to the condominiums.

“We were told that this could not be done as the burst made it impossible for water to be pumped into the building.

“So, we were forced to advise the occupants to make alternative arrangements to get by, such as temporarily moving in with their relatives, returning to their village or putting up at nearby hotels.”

She said a “specialist contractor” was called in on November 24 to deal with the leak as the work was “too complicated” for the in-house technician to handle.

“A trench has to be fashioned across the road near the storage tanks. A new pipe will later be installed to bypass the burst section.” 

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, including the onset of bad weather, the firm estimated that it would take about one week to complete the work.

The spokeswoman said multiple notices had been sent to unit-owners since the six inch pipe “unexpectedly” burst.

When asked on Thursday, if the “external specialist” would meet the prospective deadline on December 1, she said it looked likely that another seven days were needed to complete the job.

“The repairs have been held up by the bad weather which we have been experiencing off late.

“Whatever the case, we have spoken to the contractor about having the new pipe put in place as soon as possible and are keeping tabs on the progress of this work.