SINGAPORE – Investigations into the cause of the burst water pipe at Bukit Batok are still underway, while repair works are expected to complete by Friday (Sep 29).

The Public Utilities Board (PUB) said in a Facebook update at noon on Wednesday that one lane along Bukit Batok West Ave 6 heading towards Bukit Batok Ave 1 will remain closed to facilitate the repair works.

The water pipe burst just before 10pm on Tuesday, causing water and debris to shoot several metres up from the ground near the junction of Bukit Batok West Avenue 6 and Bukit Batok West Avenue 8.

The agency said that “necessary precautions” were being undertaken as the water main, located 4-metres underground, is situated near other service cables.

The PUB said that it had isolated the leaking watermain at 1.50am on Wednesday, several hours after the incident was reported.

According to the PUB, the leak occurred on an underground 700mm diameter watermain, which was detected by their sensors, adding that the affected pipe is “one of the major pipes supplying water to customers at the Bukit Batok estate”. About 7,500 cubic metres of water was estimated to be lost during the incident, the PUB added. 

To ensure the water supply of Bukit Batok residents were not affected, PUB worked to draw water from other unaffected watermains before shutting the valves to stop the leak.

The PUB also added that it regularly does maintenance of the water supply network to ensure that Singaporeans have a safe and reliable water supply.

"PUB manually inspects the entire network at least once a year.  This include leak detection to detect possible leaks in underground pipes. Additionally, PUB has put in place more than 300 sensors in our water supply network to help us monitor our network real-time and understand the performance and conditions of pipelines," said a PUB spokesperson.

The network in the area was last checked in January 2017, the PUB added, and was found to be leak-free and in satisfactory conditions. 

When asked whether there were any damage to telco cables in the area, the PUB said that they were not aware of any damage to services in the vicinity of the leak spot.

"We are also taking extra precaution for our excavation and subsequent repair work given the depth of the pipe and the proximity of our services/cables to the water pipes," said a PUB spokesperson.

Videos of the burst water pipe were circulated online on Tuesday. The incident obstructed oncoming traffic as water levels on the road got higher, preventing the vehicles from passing through.

PUB said that the affected pipe was laid in 1982 and has no prior leak. The cause of the leak is being investigated.