SINGAPORE – Nearly 70 homes in Clementi, as well as nearby businesses, did not have piped water for more than 12 hours after a pipe at a construction site burst and flooded the surrounding area.

       In a Facebook post, national water agency PUB said it was alerted to the incident near Block 324 Clementi Avenue 5 at about 1.30am on Nov 25. The pipe – a 150mm-diameter water main – had burst within a nearby construction site and flooded the ground floor of the block.

       The water supply to about 70 households on the lower floors of Blocks 324 and 325, and to businesses on the ground floor of Block 325, was disrupted because of the damaged pipe, said PUB, which sent its workers to isolate and repair the leak.

       The board told The Straits Times that at 5.19pm, the water supply was restored, and it is investigating the cause of the leak.

       A video posted on Facebook by Jurong GRC MP Tan Wu Meng on Nov 25 shows the outdoor walkway of the block covered with brownish water. The clip appears to have been filmed before dawn, with the surroundings still dark.

       Mr Saad Ali, who lives in Block 324, realised something was amiss when he woke up in the middle of the night.

       The 76-year-old said: “I woke up at 4.30am this morning to go to the toilet and realised there was no more water supply when I tried to flush the toilet and turn on the tap.

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       “There was a bit of commotion downstairs and I saw people gathered and realised it was flooding next to the void deck.”

       Mr Saad added that the water near the void deck was cleared by around 7am.

       To help those affected, PUB activated a water wagon and distributed water in five-litre packs, while the Land Transport Authority and the Cross-Island Line MRT contractor team contacted residents, Dr Tan told ST in a media reply.

       The affected blocks are next to a construction site near where the future MRT line’s Clementi station will be located.

       Workers from businesses at Block 325 carried pails and bottles to the water wagon to collect water, ST observed. Businesses there include two coffee shops, a hair salon and a clinic.

       One of the people collecting water was Mr Abdul Rahman, who works at Western food stall Fatty Bom Bom.

       The 25-year-old said the stall’s business had not been affected by the incident. However, he was using takeaway cutlery and boxes to serve customers who were dining in, so that he could save on water by not needing to wash cutlery and plates.

       Mr Abdul Rahman added: “I can’t cook certain things like rice and mashed potatoes because of the shortage of water.”

       Ms Wang Xi Yun, a drink stall worker at one of the affected coffee shops, lamented the disruption and said she had to keep going out to the water wagon to collect water to wash cups.

       The water wagon left at about 5.25pm, and the walkway of Block 324 that was earlier flooded looked clean and dry, ST observed.

       In a separate incident on Nov 24, residents on the lower floors of Blocks 705 and 725 Clementi West Street 2 were without piped water for hours, after an underground PUB pipe burst there, the West Coast Town Council said on Facebook at 11.25am.

       The town council gave an update at 4.15pm on the same day that the damaged pipe at Block 705 had been fixed.

       On Oct 4, residents and motorists in Marine Parade had to squelch through ankle-deep water after workers accidentally hit an underground water pipe there.