News

Burst Benalla water main caused discolouration of tap water

By Simon Ruppert

May 8, 2025

Benalla residents may have seen discolouration in the water coming from their taps on May 7, after a water main burst in the area. Photo by vitapix

North East water worked overnight on Wednesday, May 7 and during the day on May 8 to fix a large water main break in Benalla.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

Locals had noticed an issue with some posting to Facebook pages asking if anyone else had seen discoloured water coming from their tap.

There were five posts asking the question on the Benalla Community Noticeboard page, and a few shared elsewhere.

North East Water shared information via its social media pages, around 12.15pm on May 8, to confirm why this was happening.

“The burst has disturbed natural minerals in our pipework, causing reports of water discolouration,” the statement read.

“The western area of Benalla is mainly affected, though discolouration may occur beyond this location. Please know that the water remains safe to drink.

“Water at the town standpipe is also discoloured so we have closed it for 24 hours, flushing customer connections first.”

The statement said that after North East Water finished flushing the local pipe network, people may still have been seeing discoloured tap water.

Residents were told that, in order to clear the discoloured water, to run the tap at the front of their property for a few minutes until the water runs clear.

The issue has now been fixed.