The leak was first reported on May 19 and Coliban Water reduced water pressure to minimise losses during the investigation.

But it wasn’t until this Tuesday that leak detection equipment from Melbourne arrived in Bendigo.

A local resident, who did not wish to be named, raised concerns about the waste of water and safety issues over old mines in the area near the leak.

“The water was absolutely bolting down,” she said.

“There were thousands of gallons a day.

“I’ve told the kids to stay out because there’s water everywhere and there are old mines over that way.

“If they fill up with water they could actually collapse.”

A Coliban Water spokeswoman said the leak had been “rare”.

She said the type of pipe which burst was one that only occurred once or twice a year and it was difficult to locate.

“The location was difficult to find ... water was bubbling up 150 metres from where the leak was,” she said.

“When a pipe bursts, nine out of 10 times it’s noticeable right away because that is where it bursts through the ground or through the road.

“The only way to find this is to dig test holes and at one stage we thought it could have been below Eaglehawk Road - we can’t dig that up without knowing.”

The spokeswoman said specialised equipment from Melbourne was required and took time to arrive.

“Normally in their type of work they can find a leak and it can be fixed in a day,” she said.

“This leak took two days - that’s how hard it was to find.”

The spokeswoman said measures had been taken to reduce water loss, including reducing water pressure to about 20 customers while the leak was investigated and solved.

It was eventually found to be under a tree below the water main in McGowan Street.