Catastrophe struck tower 1 on 20 February 2023 when a polypropylene Aquatherm water pipe on level 10 burst and unleashed a torrent of hot water that collapsed the level 10 foyer ceiling, and flooded apartments, stairwells, lift shafts and common areas on levels 10 and 9. Lifts, electrical boards, security systems and lighting were taken out and one lift took months to return to service.
Residents on upper floors unable to navigate dozens of staircases were initially stranded. The volunteers who brought them supplies/assisted those who could navigate the stairs deserve our gratitude.
Eight months on, and the body corporate committee has offered only limited information about the progress of repairs and the estimated cost of repairs. Two building managers reports in March and April 2023 describe action to be taken and provide a schedule for reparation works. But that’s it. That’s not good enough.
The body corporate manager, who maintains all the body corporate records, when requested to provide a copy of the ‘expert reports’ obtained by the committee replied: “We are not aware of the documents you refer to.”
The Chairman of the Committee has ignored a similar request for information. Why the secrecy?
We still don’t know whether the damage to common and personal property will be covered by the body corporate insurance or to what extent. We don’t know what steps have been taken to prevent or minimise the prospect of a second pipe failure. We don’t know if insurance would cover a second event, particularly if we’re slow to replace the Aquatherm system.
We do know that in 2019, US$23.5 million was needed to repair a US jail’s extensive Aquatherm system which was under a decade old.
We do know that in February 2016 a Brisbane body corporate made application for an adjudicator’s order to authorise spending to replace the Aquatherm hot water line at a cost
above the committee’s spending limit and that numerous bodies corporate including Watermark Kangaroo Point, Marquis On Main Beach, Signature Park Apartment
Merrimac, Regatta Riverside Toowong, Ocean Pacific Broadbeach, Metropolis On Ann Brisbane CBD, Tempo Apartments West End, and Quest Riverpark Central Brisbane CBD have all replaced their Aquatherm piping.
We do know that Aquatherm, a German plumbing invention of the 1980s, is expected to fail if the pipes are NOT PROPERLY clamped, became prone to failure if certain
chemicals are in the water such as chlorine, and if the water is particularly hot, as is common in Australian installations.
There had been problems with the hot water pipes at Southport Central in the year before the pipe burst. The Mantra Building Manager’s report of 31 August 2022 advised of significant leaks in the Aquatherm hot water feed pipes in Tower 1, and noted it had been suggested that a secondary hot water feed line be installed using copper pipes to do away with the Aquatherm (polypropylene) pipes to avoid a potential major flooding incident.
At the AGM in late 2022, owners approved a committee motion to set aside $600,000 of sinking fund money to urgently replace “the failing Aquatherm pipes”.
A year on from that, and some extensively water damaged apartments and infrastructure on levels 9 and 10 are still being repaired. It appears a secondary hot water feed line will need to be installed to replace on all residential levels. The
installation includes cutting core holes in the concrete fire stair landings to reroute the hot water feed line.
Insurance usually covers only replacing like-with-like, but it seems the proposal is to not only reroute the hot water feed line but replace all Aquatherm pipes with copper
pipes from the rooftop down through residential levels 39 to 9, and through the foyer ceiling spaces in each level.
Aquatherm pipes are installed in Tower 1 only, but ultimately all owners contribute to the sinking fund and cost of repairs beyond that covered by insurance.
Beyond what insurance will cover, all owners in Southport Central Residential will bear the cost of this work and must be provided with access to all relevant reports, which can be simply posted on the Portal maintained by the Body Corporate Manager) detailing the scope of works, estimated cost and timeframe for this work to be carried out.
We know it is not possible to predict when and if further failure of the existing Aquatherm pipes will occur, but all Tower 1 owners and their tenants must be told what steps, if any, have been taken pending replacement of the existing Aquatherm pipes to minimise the prospect of a further flooding event. Their safety is at stake.
Should an Aquathern pipe burst on a much higher level, it could have an even more widespread, catastrophic effect and send water cascading down dozens of floors with massive cost consequences.
