Keeping safe in summer
The Country Fire Authority (CFA) lists parts of our service region as areas of high fire danger.
Our teams are on standby to repair water mains and hydrants during an emergency. However, they may not be able to safely access water supplies or respond to system failures.
Getting prepared
Find out how your water supply can be impacted, how you can prepare and what we do during a fire danger period.
Town water systems are only designed to cope with everyday drinking water needs. They can be under extreme load during a bushfire. Your water pressure may be significantly reduced or your supply may be interrupted. This may impact on your ability to fight fires as well.
If a fire affects our facilities or equipment, we may not be able to fix them immediately or guarantee a reliable water supply. If this happens, we’ll work with affected residents to provide alternative sources or provide advice on what they can do.
If there‘s a serious bushfire, it may affect the quality of your drinking water. We recommend you boil your drinking water during and after a bushfire until we can confirm it’s safe. We’ll also work to provide advice to affected residents as soon as we can.
We recommend you consult the CFA about preparing your family and home for a bushfire. Consider an alternative water supply as part of your bushfire plan. This is very important if you live in a rural or bushfire-prone area.
On days of significant fire risk, ensure you have a supply of drinking water available. Fill up several large containers and place them in the fridge or a cool place, or fill your bathtub in case of loss of supply. We recommend at least 10 litres per person as a minimum.
Only residents who are fully prepared should consider staying to defend their property. The safest option is to leave early and be well away from the threat.
The CFA says that if you are confident, capable and prepared to actively defend your property, you should have the following resources and equipment as a minimum:
- At least 10,000 litres of water available at each building. This supply is in addition to water available for fire suppression on remote parts of your property. It should be independent of the reticulated water supply and mains power supply – for instance, a dam, tank or pool.
- A firefighting pump that is protected from radiant heat and not reliant on mains power supply.
- Firefighting hoses that reach all the way around your home.
- Personal protective clothing.
It’s worth noting that if water restrictions are in force, they don’t apply if a fire is threatening your property.
More information is available from the CFA on preparing for a bushfire.
We’re continually working to prepare for the bushfire season. Our people and our supply networks are ready for extreme conditions.
This work includes:
- Clearing land and access tracks within and around our water pumping stations, storage areas and catchments.
- Installing back-up generators at critical sites including major pumping stations and water sources.
- Having portable generators available to set up at water pumping stations if required.
- Planning access to groundwater bores to supplement supplies for catchments in the Otways and Southern Grampians. These areas have been identified as high risk in our bushfire plan
- Organising access to water carters to transport emergency water supplies when necessary.
During a bushfire, we’ll work with the CFA and other agencies to ensure our hydrants and other water sources are easy to access.
Our Customer Support Team can help during the relief and recovery stage of a bushfire. They’re trained to provide practical options to help ease the pressure of paying your water bill. They can also organise the replacement of damaged water meters.
If you’ve been affected by a bushfire please contact us.
The CFA has some excellent resources on how to plan and prepare for a bushfire or grassfire.
