Annual Report 2011 - Watercare

Watercare Services Limited
2011 ANNUAL REPORT
Onehunga
gas explosion
Early on Saturday 4 June 2011, many
New Zealanders woke to the news that there
had been a serious accident at a construction
site in the suburb of Onehunga, Auckland.
Watercare’s Network Maintenance Planner
Philomen Gulland, 48, was killed and several
of her colleagues were injured when an
explosion occurred during an inspection
of a 1.9-metre-diameter pipe which had
been drained of water. The fire service later
identified the presence of gas, and the
police, fire service and Department of Labour
launched inquiries. Additionally, Watercare
commenced its own review.
Four Watercare staff members and
contractors required hospital treatment.
One of these, Network Engineer Ian Winson,
47, suffered serious injuries.
Chief Executive Mark Ford described the
accident as “a very dark hour for Watercare”,
noting at the time: “These people are like
family to us”.
The accident occurred at a construction site at
the intersection of Mt Smart Road, Victoria Street
and Athens Road, where contractors earlier
that morning had completed the removal of a
section of the Hunua No. 3 watermain that had
been drained and withdrawn from service. A
new section of pipe was to be linked as part of
a project which will ultimately connect a new
watermain, Hunua No. 4, to the existing network.
At the time of the accident, Philomen and her
colleagues were commencing a condition
inspection of a section of the drained pipe.
The project work and the inspection had been
scheduled for Queen’s Birthday Weekend as
this is typically a time of low water demand
in Auckland.
Philomen, a Canadian-born mother-of-two,
was a popular and well-respected Watercare
staff member. Several hundred friends,
family and colleagues attended a gathering
to farewell Philomen at Auckland’s Waipapa
Marae. In a notice in The New Zealand Herald,
her colleagues recalled her professionalism,
generosity and laughter, and said she would
be sorely missed.
At a committee meeting on 9 June 2011,
members of Auckland Council observed
a minute’s silence and expressed their
condolences to the families of Philomen and
to the others who were injured, recording
that this was Watercare’s first lost-time injury
accident in 18 months.
Construction work has since been completed
and the watermain has been returned to
service with the new connection in place.
Watercare
at work
Watercare team aids Christchurch recovery
Watercare sent a 28-strong response and
recovery team to Christchurch following
the devastating earthquake that struck the
city on 22 February 2011.
Christchurch relies on groundwater. Prior to
the earthquake, the groundwater was not
treated and therefore the city’s water utility
provider did not have disinfection facilities
or expertise in this area. With the threat of
groundwater contamination, the Medical
Officer of Health decided it was necessary
to chlorinate the water to lower the risk to
public health.
In the days that followed the earthquake,
Watercare set up its containerised mobile
Onehunga gas explosion
chlorine dosing rig to disinfect water at the
largest pump station. This rig had been built
following the earthquake in September 2010
and, while it was not needed then,
it was quickly pushed into action this time.
Watercare also designed and oversaw the
production, installation and commissioning
of 26 chlorine dosing rigs that were used
at the high-risk pump stations.
Operations Manager Wastewater
Mark Bourne says the Watercare team set
up a depot in Christchurch and secured a
local contractor to assist with the build of
the units.
“After the units were pressure tested,
we installed and commissioned them before
handing them over to the council.” While the
majority of work was based
around water supply, a team of fitters
and instrument technicians was based
at Bromley Wastewater Treatment Plant
to carry out emergency repair works.
Watercare laboratory staff also helped
the council with water-quality testing.
The staff worked on a rotational basis
over the course of four weeks.
PAGE 14
North-Western Water Supply Manager Priyan Perera beside one of the pump stations that was affected by the February earthquake.
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