Sta Luċija residents had water in their taps again yesterday afternoon, over 48 hours after a main pipe burst in the locality, leaving 12 towns dry.

The Water Services Corporation explained that the time required to restore the service was “natural”, given the size of the damaged distribution main and the major repairs it entailed.

Being a 250-mm main, referred to as a trunk, the process took time and had to be done slowly, area by area. If the supply was simply restored and the water allowed through the system at high pressure, it would break, the corporation spokesman explained.

Ninety per cent of affected residents would have their supply restored quickly but a handful of households would have problems, being in the critical nodes, he said.

On Friday morning, the water supply in Paola, Żabbar, Tarxien, Senglea, Vittoriosa, Cospicua, Sta Luċija, Fgura, Bulebel, Marsascala, Kalkara and Xgħajra was disrupted due to a “simple failure”. Emergency repair works kicked off and it was estimated that the situation would return to normal by Saturday morning.

However, residents of Oleander Street, in Sta Luċija remained without water until yesterday afternoon.

While one resident understood that repairs were inevitable, she said she was surprised to see a substantial volume of water leaking onto the road throughout the night while she had none in her taps. “It is ironic that, while we have no water, several streets are swimming in it,” the resident said, more concerned about the waste than the fact that she did not have a drop at home.

The leakage was repaired yesterday morning.