Camster road now closed for several months but retired teacher is delighted water will flow smoothly after 20 years
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Peter Darmady, a retired Wick High School teacher, feels jubilant that two decades of water supply issues at his home will be over and feels the road restrictions in place from this week are worth it.
Old and damaged underground pipes in the Camster/Roster area are being fixed by Scottish Water in an extensive programme of work that will be completed early next year but involves road closures over the next few months.
"I'm delighted to report that the long awaited water main replacement for the Camster road is well under way and proceeding at pace," said Mr Darmady.
"This project, which serves some 50 properties or so and costing Scottish Water a lot – in the region of £3M, I believe – is at last being competently and swiftly completed by GM Henderson. It's not an easy job as it has to be entrenched between the road surface and the broadband pipe. And then there is deep ditch to avoid. Although the road is closed during the day, with three access slots, the folk doing the work are courteous and considerate of local traffic needs when possible."
Mr Darmady says that an old cast iron pipe supplying his home ran through a region of bog which "waxed and waned" with the amount of water contained within it. The movement within this "flexible bog" led to issues with the brittle main water supply pipe cracking.
"So if it rained, the pipe broke and if it was dry it also broke. And if it was repaired – nearly always within 24 hours – it would break again the next day. Living near the highest point in the main, we were usually among the first to lose pressure – often first thing in the morning. And yes, Scottish Water is on speed dial in our house."
After decades of losing water supply, he says he is now rejoicing that the family home will be connected via a brand new flexible pipe. "If it means occasional delays in travelling, so be it. Water, one realises when one doesn't have it, is actually a necessity. And we should reflect that having water piped into our houses is more than most of our fellow beings on this planet have."
Scottish Water said that its 24-hour response team was usually able to reconnect those affected in the Camster area within a few hours of a pipe breaking. In cases "where it proved harder to locate the problem, bottled water was supplied to affected customers", it further stated.
Residents voiced their fears about the ongoing works programme at a meeting in Lybster several weeks ago and talked about how the road closure would affect them. Many found it "unacceptable" that the road would be closed for five months and queried possible issues regarding access for deliveries and emergency vehicles. Concern was also expressed about refuse collections, children going to and from school and people to and from work.
Three 30-minute access slots were said to be inadequate and the Lybster Community Hall meeting in early September gave local people an opportunity to meet the project team and ask questions.
A Scottish Water spokesperson said: "We recognise that work of this kind involves short term disruption and, especially at locations like this on the road network, there are practical limits on what we can do to mitigate this.
"We aim to engage with customers in these circumstances and to do what we can to accommodate their needs while keeping everyone safe. We appreciate the patience and support of residents and other road users, which plays an important part in enabling us to make the investment that is needed for the long term future of the area’s water supply."
