Sudden Drop in pressure...

Plastic handle on the main tap ? If so it may have stripped which is par for the course. Nothing some multigrips wont fix followed by a call to council. They should fix it for free as its their meter ( if thats the problem)

It is a plastic handle on the main. It did turn a fair bit, but it reached an end point, and as i turned it anti clockwise it was definitely opening.

Positive it was opening and not just turning on the tap ? Most of the handles are held on with a little screw and far be it for me to condone tampering with council gear, I know what I'd be doing.

It seems to be a better now... possibly has some air in the lines causing drop in pressure. Not 100% but at least there is enough continuous pressure to shower with. Before it would dribble out to nothing. Lets see if it continues to improve.

Just on a side note, I have always had the main line cut just before it enters the house and had a ball valve put in line. I put it after the front garden tap but before any other fittings so I can turn the water off / on quickly and easily 100 % of the time but still have water at the front tap. No need to touch the council tap unless there is a problem with the garden tap. Well worth the $ 15 in materials.

Ringtail, that does seem like a logical decision. I might look at getting that done when we do the kitchen early next year.

Gooner, I hope this is not the case! As I said it seems to be flowing much better now, about 70-80% of the normal. Hopefully it was air in the pipes which is slowly cleared or clearing. Ill see how it progresses. As long as there is enough pressure for the missus to shower ill be out of the dog house for the evening...

Yes, well still at inferior pressure. My guess is now a faulty mains. I'll call the council monday and hope they will fix it! Im assuming its their responsibility!?

Be a little bit careful there. If you or your plumber have damaged their tap they may, in their wisdom, charge you for it and that wont be a pretty bill. But I guess you really dont have a choice other than to call a plumber first for a opinion. I really dont know how it works with council. Its their infrastructure yet you are totally entitled to turn it on / off. If they are charging you for that infrastructure then its their responsibility to ensure it functions as intended.

In response to damaging the mains... I went and gave it a good wallop in frustration and it appears to be back at full pressure! Not the best solution, but it worked! Who said violence doesn't solve problems, well at least temporarily! My guess is something clogging the mains? Ill see how this goes and if necessary call council at a later date. Mains is in good condition apart from a tree root growing straight through the box. Had a plumber out to look at and he gave me no useful information apart from it was at a acceptable pressure according to regulations or whatever.