Emergency services and organisations worked throughout the weekend to repair a major water main burst in Sunbury, which flooded homes and businesses and left thousands temporarily without water supply.
The water main ruptured on Friday, February 7, at the corner of Evans Street and Macedon Street in Sunbury, leading to floodwaters filling the surrounding area.
On Friday, a spokesperson for Sunbury SES said the flooding had “primarily affected the area bounded by Macedon Street and Evan Street, extending towards the Sunbury Cobaw Community Health building”.
“Several homes in this block have experienced inundation, and silt and debris have been deposited along roads and footpaths and some local businesses. However, thanks to co-ordinated efforts, floodwaters did not seem to penetrate business premises,” the spokesperson said.
“Further assessments are ongoing to determine the full extent of the damage.”
Greater Western Water provided updates to Facebook during the incident, advising residents on Saturday, February 8 that water supply for Goonawarra residents would be interrupted between 8pm that night and 7am the following morning and recommending that residents store drinking water in preparation.
At the peak of its response, the Sunbury SES deployed all of its available assets and about 25 volunteers to the incident.
In a Facebook update posted by the organisation at 6.28pm on Sunday, February 9, it confirmed that repairs were completed and water was restored.
“This incident affected our community in many ways – homes inundated with floodwaters, local businesses impacted, and thousands left without water supply. Traffic disruptions added to the challenges, testing the patience of residents and commuters alike,” the organisation said.
“But through it all, our community showed resilience, and our emergency services came together to respond.”
