Thousands still without water in aftermath of snow chaos
Thousands of homes across the UK and Ireland are without running water after thawing temperatures caused pipes to burst and leak.
Thames Water has faced criticism for resorting to handing out bottled water to customers after up to 20,000 properties in London and the Thames valley had their supplies cut off.
The company apologised and said the number of homes without water was now down to 12,000 – and falling – as engineers battled to fix widespread disruption to the water supply.
Anglian Water, Severn Trent, Southern Water, Welsh Water, Wessex Water, Yorkshire Water, South West Water, Scottish Water and United Utilities all said they had received reports of customers experiencing problem with their pipelines.
Meanwhile, a number of schools said they would be forced to close on Monday because they did not have running water.
Thames Water customers have expressed frustration on social media and criticised the company for not providing more convenient access to water.
Problems began late on Saturday night, though the company’s network had been experiencing issues with freezing pipes since Thursday.
Addresses in SW16, SW17 and SW18; NW2, NW3, NW5 and NW11; N2, N6, N10 and N19 were the worst affected, according to a company spokesperson.
Thames Water has not said when households can expect water supplies to return, but said engineers were working around the clock to resolve the problems.
It said: “We’ve seen an increase in leaks and bursts on our network, which we are urgently dealing with as fast as we possibly can. But the sudden and widespread surge in demand, coinciding with the rise in temperatures, means we also need to urge all our customers to check their own pipes for bursts and call a plumber if necessary.
Thames Water has faced criticism for resorting to handing out bottled water to customers after up to 20,000 properties in London and the Thames valley had their supplies cut off.
The company apologised and said the number of homes without water was now down to 12,000 – and falling – as engineers battled to fix widespread disruption to the water supply.
Anglian Water, Severn Trent, Southern Water, Welsh Water, Wessex Water, Yorkshire Water, South West Water, Scottish Water and United Utilities all said they had received reports of customers experiencing problem with their pipelines.
Meanwhile, a number of schools said they would be forced to close on Monday because they did not have running water.
Thames Water customers have expressed frustration on social media and criticised the company for not providing more convenient access to water.
Problems began late on Saturday night, though the company’s network had been experiencing issues with freezing pipes since Thursday.
Addresses in SW16, SW17 and SW18; NW2, NW3, NW5 and NW11; N2, N6, N10 and N19 were the worst affected, according to a company spokesperson.
Thames Water has not said when households can expect water supplies to return, but said engineers were working around the clock to resolve the problems.
It said: “We’ve seen an increase in leaks and bursts on our network, which we are urgently dealing with as fast as we possibly can. But the sudden and widespread surge in demand, coinciding with the rise in temperatures, means we also need to urge all our customers to check their own pipes for bursts and call a plumber if necessary.
Source: theguardian
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