'It looks like it, it smells like it': Sewage flows on city street
As sewage gushed from a building's pier on a busy Canberra city street on Friday morning, many passersby were shocked and likely put off their breakfast - others, not so much.
The unpleasant plumbing issue has been happening intermittently on the corner of Rudd and Moore Streets for months, local retailers say.
The problem was to do with a blockage or fault in the building's internal drainage network, a spokeswoman for Icon Water said, rather than with the utility company's sewer network.
"In the interest of assisting to resolve [the problem] Icon Water has sourced some information on the internal drainage for the building and we are contacting the building’s plumber with the objective of meeting him on site to provide him with the internal drainage plans," the spokeswoman said.
"We appreciate this is a unpleasant occurrence and we are doing what we can to assist the plumber in understanding and addressing the fault."
The first time Graeme Taylor, who works nearby, saw the sewage was in about October last year, he said. A hole in the pier of the building, which is fronted by ANZ Bank, was once covered up with a cap to stop the flow.
But the cap had since burst off and he had seen the sewage another two times: once in December after a period of heavy rainfall and once on the way to work on Friday morning.
"I called the Access Canberra helpline this morning and I was trying to be believable ... the guy I was talking to was incredulous. I said, 'Mate - it looks like it, it smells like it, and it is'," Mr Taylor said.
"They need to figure out what the hell has happened. I've been working on this side of town for about seven years and I've only seen it in the past few months.
"The bottom line is that it needs to be rectified and [the solution] needs to have a permanent affect."
A staff member from Vision City who have a store in the building at 10 Moore Street said they had brought up the problem with management and were told that maintenance was handling it.
A staff member from Audio Clinic Canberra said a couple of customers had noticed the problem and mentioned it when they came in.
"My colleague says it happens every few months," she said. "It stinks."
Quintessential Equity, who manage 10 Moore Street, were contacted for comment.