Anglian Water has been criticised for taking almost three weeks to fix two leaks on a busy road in Sprowston.
A woman living near the leaks on Wroxham Road and Cannerby Lane said water shot four-feet in the air when they first appeared on March 15.
She reported it to Anglian Water and engineers were sent out the next day.
But despite carrying out some repairs, the leaks continued for almost three weeks, spilling water onto the road.
The 70-year-old resident, who does not wish to be named, said: 'When I phoned up Anglian Water they were all very nice, but nothing was done about it.
'They said the gas people needed to be there, while the gas people were saying Anglian Water could proceed, but with caution.
'I never expected it to last this long. It has been a bit of catastrophe.'
Anglian Water has since apologised for the delay.
A spokesman said: 'The leak was next to a high pressure gas main which meant we needed to have a National Grid representative present whilst we completed the work.
'Arranging this, along with agreeing and putting in place the appropriate traffic management system has taken longer than we would have liked.'
The company said it was repairing the leak today (March 4), adding it should be completed by tomorrow.
'The temporary traffic lights and the road closure, which are in place to allow our teams to complete the work safely, will remain in place until tomorrow close of play,' the spokesman said.
'Once again, we're sorry for any inconvenience caused and that our response time to this reported leak fell short of our normal high standards.'
Cadent, which is responsible for the gas pipelines, said it received a request from Anglian to carry out the work on March 22.
A spokesman said Anglian Water received permission to proceed on March 28.
'Anglian Water do have our plans of where our mains are, so would not necessarily have needed to contact us to ask permission to proceed,' the spokesman said.
The company said plans showing the location of assets is something that all utility companies have.
It said the 'rule of thumb' for working near gas pipes is to 'proceed with caution and dig by hand if necessary.'
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here