Recently we have been informed that there is a leak in the water access pipe which is across the road from our block of units and clearly on the road side of our meter. I have always had the belief that the repair of a water pipe where the leak is on the street side of the water meter is the responsibility of the water supplier, in this case Hunter Water. That is confirmed on the Hunter Water website. However, it appears that because the pipe is more than 40cm in diameter the cost of repair falls to us, the owners of the block of units. How fair is that? I would think that the pipe is over the 40cm limit BECAUSE it is required to supply 24 individual units with water and a smaller pipe would not be able to do that job effectively. Hunter Water gets revenue from each of those 24 unit owners BUT is not responsible for the cost of the repair of the pipe. A private plumber is needed to do the job as Hunter Water will not. The cost is considerable being $13000.00 at best and another $7000.00 if they have to dig up the road. It seems this is now the norm….. comments and way forward welcome.
