A huge repair operation is underway after a 30-inch water pipe burst and flooded Aston streets last week. The pipe, underneath Lichfield Road, near Spaghetti Junction, ruptured in the early hours of Wednesday, June 14.
Thousands of homes were left without water as Severn Trent engineers battled to fix the break. A number of road closures were in place as staff worked to get the issue under control.
By 9am, the water supply had been halted and flood waters had began to recede. The cause of the break is yet to be determined.
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Ross Stokes, strategic network lead, was among those leading the onsite repair teams. He said: “We managed to find some valve chambers and got it under control at about 9am.
“At our peak, we probably had 20 to 30 inspectors doing pressure monitoring and flushing, three or four repair teams, plus our customer and tanker teams. In total we have probably had 60 to 70 people on site during the day.
“It was a real team effort, with huge numbers of people involved throughout the company. We have more than 90,000km of water network pipes – you can get to Australia and back seven times on that distance.”
Lichfield Road was reopened to traffic by mid-afternoon on Wednesday, but Severn Trent engineers worked through the night to continue with the repairs and clean-up operation. At midday on Thursday, vital and specially-made parts were delivered to the onsite teams to replace the burst pipe – effectively bringing the incident to an end.
All roads are now open apart from a section of dual carriageway on Litchfield Road, between the Cuckoo Road junction and the Esso petrol station. Engineers checked the wider local network this weekend to ensure all systems are working as they should be.
A Severn Trent spokesperson said: “We’d like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding as our teams worked hard on what has been a complex repair. We’re pleased to share that after working 24/7 on what was a complex fix, our expert engineers have completed the repair.
“Our priority now is to get the water main back into supply and return the area back to normal. Due to the size of the pipe, we need to do this thoroughly and carefully to ensure the pipe is working as it should again. Again, we’d like to thank everyone for their continued patience as our teams work hard to finish their work as quickly and as safely as possible.”
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