Water Emergency Updates

1. South Staffs Water – 4 March 2018

Due to a sudden change in temperature over the past 24 hours, South Staffs Water is now dealing with a large number of burst pipes across its network.This has resulted in an approximate 30% increase in the volume of water provided.This may impact on service and South Staffs Water currently has all available engineers working to identify and fix bursts.

All efforts are focusing on maintaining services and the company is currently prioritising emergencies and vulnerable customers.

South Staffs is asking customers to help by doing the following:

• If they spot a leak in the road or footpath, call on 0800 389 1011 or tweet @SthStaffsWater
• If they have a leak or dripping tap at their property, contact a recommended plumber to assist with the repair as soon as possible. Recommended plumbers can be found here https://www.watersafe.org.uk/
• Help save water by minimising the amount they are using, wherever possible.

Customers may also notice changes in the pressure of their water supply, whilst changes within the network are being made.

South Staffs Water apologises for any inconvenience and is working hard to resolve this as soon as possible.Due to a sudden change in temperature over the past 24 hours, South Staffs Water is now dealing with a large number of burst pipes across its network.

2. Severn Trent – 5 March 2018

The rapid thaw has seen our teams called out to an unprecedented number of burst pipes. To put that into perspective, we’ve had an increase in burst pipe alarms of nearly 4000%.

When water freezes within a pipe it expands, putting more pressure on it and causing it to split or the joints to pull apart. When the temperature starts to increase again, the water will
start to leak out.

This has put pressure on our network and has meant that small pockets of our network experienced low pressure or periodic interruptions to supply during Sunday evening. Our teams have worked tirelessly throughout the night to fix many of the bursts, and as a result we have managed to restore supplies to everyone who was impacted.

Overnight there have been a further series of bursts though, and so as we enter peak demand this morning, there may still be poor pressure or intermittent supplies in pockets again as we fix these. We have teams working really hard to deal with these and can reassure customers that we are doing everything we can to restore supplies as soon as possible.

We would like to offer a huge apology to these customers for any disruption to their Monday mornings. We know just how hard it is to be without water and we hugely appreciate everyone’s patience, as our teams work round the clock to fix the bursts and reduce any impact to our customers.

3. Thames, South East Water, Southern Water, Affinity water – 5 March 2018

Following the recent freeze and rapid thaw, water companies across London and the South East of England are experiencing exceptionally high levels of demand for water due to multiple bursts on networks and an increase in leaks in and on customer properties.

So they are asking their customers who have water to use as little as possible while they get things back to normal. Not all areas are affected equally, but significant numbers of customers are currently without water or have low pressure.

We are putting as much extra water as we can into our local networks and fixing leaks and bursts as quickly as possible. We sincerely apologise to all those who are currently without water or experiencing low pressure. Right now we really need all our customers’ support and understanding to help us rebuild supplies in our networks for everyone as quickly as possible.

Please do not use water for anything that isn’t essential. Where possible, take short showers rather than baths, do not leave taps running unnecessarily and only run washing machines and dish washers when you have a full load. This will make a real difference.

In the meantime, we are all working hard to prioritise supplies for vulnerable customers, to provide bottled water where necessary and to provide updates via social media and our websites.

We would also ask all our customers to check their own pipes for bursts and call a plumber if necessary. Outside taps are especially vulnerable to freezing temperatures and bursts may not be obvious. Anyone responsible for commercial premises, which may not have been visited since the thaw started, should make sure their pipes have not been damaged.

London’s collection points are located at Hampstead No1 Pond Car Park in North London and the Homebase on Woodgate Drive, Streatham Vale.

4. Burnley, Preston, Accrington – 5 March 2018

Following reports of a leak in the grounds of the electricity sub-station, our Inspector has replaced a valve which has stopped the leak and restored water supply to most properties in the area. However, we believe that there are still some properties without water supply.  Our inspector believes that there may be a further burst in the area.

Unfortunately, he has been unable to locate the new burst and has requested that we attend again in daylight hours.  We will attend again Monday morning.

We’re really sorry if this issue is affecting you. We will work hard to restore your supply as soon as possible.

5. South East Water – 5 March 2018

Due to the thaw we have seen a rise in the number of burst pipes both on our customers own pipe work and across the mains network.  Our teams have been working around the clock in difficult conditions to identify and deal with region wide issues affecting customers supply.  We’re experiencing a high volume of calls and are sorry if it’s taking longer than normal for customers to get in touch with us.  As we locate and undertake repairs we may need to interrupt water supplies, but we will update all impacted areas.

6. Bristol Water – 5 March 2018

Following the spell of cold weather, we have a high volume of leaks and burst mains being reported. The incident room has been opened to coordinate activities of leak repair, recovering reservoir levels and optimizing the treatment works.

7. Wessex Water – 5 March 2018

Following the adverse weather conditions over the weekend, we are experiencing significant leakage issues across our network. Customers should ensure any leakage on their private pipework is being repaired or isolated as quickly as possible.