McCrae landslide

State Emergency Services (SES) was the body appointed to manage the response phase of this incident. Mornington Peninsula Shire Council assumed control on 11 February as the body to lead and manage the recovery phase of this incident.

On 4 February 2025, the Premier of Victoria also announced a Board of Inquiry, opens in a new window into the cause of the landslide.

While we continue to undertake a thorough health check and review of our network, it does take time to conduct this work. We also understand that building a meaningful picture of a very complex issue extends beyond South East Water and so look forward to the Victorian Government’s Board of Inquiry.

It’s our job to deliver drinking water to 1.8 million people across Melbourne’s south east and take the waste away. 

We also manage assets like water mains, pumping stations and storage tanks.

As a retail water corporation, we don’t deliver drainage services or urban planning services. In addition, we don’t manage the water held in rivers, creeks, aquifers or springs.

We’ve been focussing our efforts on supporting customers who have been unable to occupy their homes. This includes:

• assigning a dedicated customer liaison officer as a direct point of contact for matters related to their water supply and wastewater services
• waiving water bills for the period impacted customers are unable to occupy their homes
• providing advice to customers about what to do when their water service can be re-connected and they can return to their homes.   

We’ve tried to make it easy for our customers and community to see us and contact us if they need to.

Since the landslide occurred on 15 January, this has included:

• our customer support specialists spending time in the McCrae community
• putting up posters at local community groups and retailers linking to this dedicated web page
• letterbox dropping South East Water community updates
• supporting customers through our 24-hour faults and emergencies team
• setting up a dedicated email address for customer queries mccrae@sew.com.au

Some ways to monitor for leaks at your property include:

•  turning off all taps and appliances and seeing if your water meter still ticks over
• checking your water bill for higher-than-usual water usage
• looking for visual signs of leaks around your home and garden.

For more information visit this page of our website: Check for leaks | South East Water, opens in a new window

If you see a water leak or have an issue with sewerage let us know. Your reports help us quickly track down and fix issues when they happen. 

• Call us anytime on 13 28 12 (24-hours) 
• Snap a photo using the Snap Send Solve app, opens in a new window
• Or check our online faults map at southeastwater.com.au/live, opens in a new window

If you have your contact details registered with us, we’ll let you know via SMS or email of any possible service interruptions. If you don’t, register or sign in to mySouthEastWater.com.au, opens in a new window to add or update your details.