Mayor vows to fix New Taipei water pipe by Monday after 10,000 affected

New Taipei, Feb. 8 (CNA) New Taipei Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) on Sunday said he had ordered a water pipeline damaged during construction work in Xinzhuang District to be repaired by Monday, after some 10,000 households were affected.

Inspecting the site of the unfinished pedestrian overpass on New Taipei Boulevard on Sunday afternoon, Hou said the emergency work would limit disruption to traffic and daily life.

Hou was accompanied during the inspection by Deputy Mayor Chu Ti-chih (朱惕之), Public Works Department Director Feng Chao-lin (馮兆麟) and Fire Department Director Chen Chung-yueh (陳崇岳).

The city's Maintenance Office Director Cheng Li-hui (鄭立輝) said the incident occurred during pile foundation work, when a contractor mistakenly excavated a water pipeline with a diameter of about 500 millimeters at a depth of roughly three meters beneath the road.

Cheng said Taiwan Water Corp. was notified after the incident and closed water valves, while pressure reduction and supply adjustments were implemented to maintain basic water use and prevent a large-scale outage.

The affected area is preliminarily assessed as extending north of Wugong Road toward the New Taipei Industrial Park, impacting about 10,000 households, Cheng said.

Feng said that before construction began, required pipeline surveys were conducted and a joint inspection with the water utility was carried out on Dec. 24.

However, discrepancies in underground pipeline maps and road layout changes following metro construction on Wugong Rd. led to the accidental damage, he added.

The New Taipei City Police Department Traffic Police Corps said it had closed the outer lane of New Taipei Blvd. toward Taishan District and the lane of Siyuan Rd. toward Wugu District.

To reduce congestion during the Monday morning commute, traffic authorities recommended alternative routes, including detours via New Taipei Blvd., Xinzhi 2nd Rd., Huacheng Rd., Fuhui Rd., Xinzhi 6th Rd. and Wugong 6th. Rd.