Water pipe burst at Bukit Batok; Second incident in a week

SINGAPORE – A water pipe burst near a car park in Bukit Batok East Ave 3 early Sunday (Oct 1) sending water shooting up into the air.

It is the second such incident in a week, following last Tuesday's pipe burst at Bukit Batok West Ave 6. 

PUB said on Sunday that the two incidents were not related. According the water agency, the leak on a watermain in the turf area near Blocks 222 and 223 was detected by sensors and was isolated at about 9am on Sunday. Repair works on the pipe were completed at about noon.

PUB added that water supply to customers was not affected and investigations on the cause of the leak is ongoing.

One resident, Mr Chia Hern Ming, had thought that it was raining as he was getting ready to go to the market at around 7.40am. “When I came out of my house, I was surprised to see water gushing out, about four storeys high,” said the 58-year-old who lives in Blk 222. 

He added that his car, which was parked near the burst water pipe, had to be sent to the car wash "There was some mud and small stones, but no significant damage,” said Mr Chia. 

Member of Parliament for Bukit Batok Murali Pillai, who was seen in the area speaking to residents, said there had been a leak at about 12am last night, which had been isolated. A larger burst happened this morning at about 7.30am.

TODAY understands that the minor leak at midnight occured on the same water pipe, about 40m apart from where the burst was detected on Sunday morning. 

Last Tuesday (Sept 26), a pipe burst at the junction of Bukit Batok West Avenue 6 and Bukit Batok West Avenue 8, shooting water several metres in the air. The pipe leak here has since been repaired.

The incident obstructed oncoming traffic on Tuesday night as water levels on the road got higher, preventing the vehicles from passing through. The lane was also subsequently cordoned off for about a day as repair works took place on Wednesday.