Peter Freeman reported the leak to Waitaki District Council on August 25 but was left nonplussed by the events that followed.
Workers turned up, spent a whole day digging, located the leak, confirmed there was, indeed, a leak from a pipe, then backfilled the hole and told him they would return at a later date.
Mr Freeman spoke to the Oamaru Mail a week later and said he was not sure how long the pipe had been leaking before he noticed it, but for the past week, since he reported it, water had continued to run "halfway down" Saleyards Rd, continuously.
"How many more leaks like this are there around the district?" he asked.
Last Friday, WDC network manager Erik van der Spek confirmed contractors visited the site and determined the leak was from a reticulated water pipe which runs under Saleyards Rd.
"The pipe itself can be removed entirely, but that means reconfiguring the network to maintain the supply.
"That work required planning, and the council did not want to spend money repairing the pipe when it could be removed."
That work started this week, to provide a permanent fix, but did not go to plan.
"I’ve had enough," he said
"What a mess. It washed right down the drives. They never put in any of the sandbag things.
"This is their third attempt to fix it and even yesterday, their pathetic attempt at it was shocking. It’s just the cost, given with what they are threatening ratepayers with big rates rises coming."
The WDC later clarified it was a nearby main that blew overnight, not the repaired pipe.
