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Water main cleaning

Recent water main cleaning in parts of Wallsend, Hamilton, Medowie and Stockton, to deliver a lasting improvement to water quality, is now complete.


About the work

NO-DES uses a water-efficient technology with virtually no loss of water to clean our watermains. In the past, water mains were cleaned by “flushing” which resulted in water being lost to the environment. Because water is more precious than ever, we are using an innovative process to clean the water mains. The water will be pumped backwards through the mains to dislodge sediment, and then pumped through a truck which has an on-board filtration system. NO-DES is a more water conservative method to traditional methods of cleaning mains.

WORK COMPLETE

Water main cleaning in parts of Wallsend, Hamilton, Medowie and Stockton is now complete.

Thank you for your patience during this work.

Our work schedule

Most of the work will be carried out between 6.30am and 5.30pm Monday to Friday. We are working to a schedule, however local factors may cause delays or work in your area to span multiple days.

Currently the schedule is:

  • Medowie - 26 February to 8 March 2024 ***EXTENDED TO 20 MARCH 2024***
  • Stockton - Wednesday 20 March to Friday 29 March 2024

What to expect

Our team will clean different water mains each day and each property should only be affected for one day. On this day:

  • there will be no interruption to your water supply
  • you may notice lower than normal water pressure for a short time
  • it‘s possible you may notice a period of ‘cloudy’ or discoloured water during and after we clean the water main.
Woman holding glass of water

How to prepare

To minimise any inconvenience that discoloured water may cause you, during the period of your suburbs cleaning we suggest you:

  • keep some water bottles in the fridge for drinking and cooking (in case you experience some discoloured water)
  • avoid using your washing machine, dishwasher or automatic ice-making machine during the day

Any cloudy/discoloured water is most likely to occur during the day. Set your washing machine and dishwasher to run after 6pm, or overnight, rather than during the day.

If you are the owner of your property (not in a leased property), and you have already provided us with your mobile phone number, we will send you a reminder SMS. (To let us know your mobile phone number so we can SMS you in the future, go to ‘My Account’ on our website hunterwater.com.au. Sorry, we are not able to store contact names and phone numbers for tenants of leased properties.)

What to do if you have discoloured water

If you have cloudy/discoloured water during the day, turn off your taps and if possible wait a few hours.

If it is after 6pm and you notice cloudy/discoloured water, there may still be some sediment in the water main after the cleaning has been finished. This is what we suggest you do:

  1. Run an outside tap for just a minute or two until the water clears. (Catch the water in a bucket and use it on your garden.)
  2. When the water runs clear outside, then run an inside tap for a short time until it also clears. (Catch the water in a bucket and use it on your garden.)
  3. If your water is still discoloured call our Customer Centre on 1300 657 000 for advice.

Thirsty for more?

Contact us if you would like to know more about the water main cleaning in your area

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