CHIDLOW residents say they have been experiencing water outages in recent years and are frustrated responses from Water Corporation have denied responsibility for the issues experienced.

Chidlow resident Roberta Selleck moved to Chidlow in 1982 and said apart from outstanding circumstances such as firefighting, there was no pressure issue until about two years ago.

“January 2023 was probably the first time we made a complaint because we were getting such low water pressure we couldn’t have a shower at night,” she said.

“The hot water system wouldn’t even come on and it was happening periodically.

“To their credit, they came out and they investigated and said, ‘look, not sure what the issue is but we’ll have a look into it’.

“Water pressure increased for a little while but fast forward to January last year, it was getting ridiculous as it was happening during the heat, and you couldn’t have a shower.”

Correspondence continued with Water Corporation and after nine months of complaints, Mrs Selleck said she had had enough.

“We were told at that time, if we want to solve the issue, the best thing to do was put a header tank in and our own pump, and then we’d have steady water pressure,” she said.

“So, I’m going ‘So you’re not going to do anything and instead you want us to pay for a fix?’”

Ms Selleck said it took getting political pressure and the ombudsman involved for Water Corporation to reveal there was an issue with the pumping and the pressure across the system in Chidlow.

“Up until that point, we were told it was our issue,” she said.

“They provided what was needed under their service agreement and they weren’t going to do anything else.

“So, for two years, until I got political pressure put on this, no result – not even a scrap of acknowledgement that it was their issue.

“I’m going, ‘this can’t be just us,’ there’s got to be others on the same pipeline – and I put it out to the community.”

Chidlow resident Ben Wheeler who lived in central Chidlow said he had also experienced water pressure issues in the area.

“What I’ve noticed is during November and December last year, at 5.30pm on the dot the pressure would drop off during a heat wave,” he said.

“It’s not bad but it’s not great either – I can still get the sprinklers working but it takes more gas to heat the same amount of water which impacts cost of living.”

Mrs Selleck said the operational team at Water Corp took action and arranged the installation of a water pod and pump so their household could get continuous pressure.

“They’ve fixed the probem on our end as a temporary solution so you’ve got to be fair and acknowledge the operations guys are doing what they can do,” she said.

“But we need a broader solution.”