Manford Way road delays expected due to Thames Water burst pipe
Residents of postal codes areas IG5, IG6 and IG7 which includes areas such as Chigwell, Hainault and Barkingside were without water from 5pm till 11:30pm, after a series of faults within the Thames Water Supply system.
At 5.30 local Epping Forest Community Champion Wilson Chowdhry contacted Thames Water seeking advice on the loss of water and when normal water provision would resume. Mr Chowdhry was advised by an operator that a 'booster had tripped' and told that an engineer had already been sent out to resolve the matter.
Mr Chowdhry pressed the operator on how long it would take for any repair and reinstatement of the water provision and was advised to expect at least 3 hours before water would be available in local homes. At this point the operator also advised Mr Chowdhry that a major burst had also occurred which had further complicated the remedial works.
Mr Chowdhry was told that he would be given text message updates on how the works were progressing.
At 23:34, Mr Chowdhry received a text from Thames water that read as follows:
"We have a temporary repair in place which has restored your supply. Unfortunately your supply may be interrupted again whilst we carry out a full repair."
Local people have complained about the long hours without drinking water, flushing toilets and the ability to bathe or shower. Many were also inconvenienced on local roads after a series of road blocks and diversions caused traffic.
Mr Chowdhry travelled to the site of the main repair at around 1.30 am where over 10 staff were busy conducting repairs at the site on Manford Way.
Repairs were later completed by 7.37 in the morning.
A similar incident also happened in Witham and raises concerns about the state of local water supply facilities in Essex.
Mr Chowdhry, said:
'It's deeply concerning that a similar incident happened not to far from Chigwell residents.
"In my opinion a review should be undertaken by water providers over the state of the existing water supply infrastructure.
"Over the last two years local residents have been subjected to traffic delays due to burst water pipes throughout Epping and Loughton.
"This indicates severe problems within existing pipework and other facilities and in my two years living in Chigwell this is now the third time I have been temporarily without water.
"While living in Redbridge I experienced one temporary loss of water in 42 years.
"It would seem to me that the infrastructure in Essex has not preserved as well or lacks the improvements that were carried out in London.
"I urge Essex and Suffolk water and Thames Water to assess current provision and to deliver an improved service to residents who deserve better.
"We pay the same level of costs as residents of many parts of London but are being fobbed off with second class services, to our detriment."
MP Priti Patel posted a response from Essex and Suffolk Water on her FB. It seems that Witham has also been affected.
As you may know, a large water main burst causing a loss of supply to residents in the Witham/CM8 area earlier today, we can now confirm that all customers are now back on supply, although some may experience low pressure while the network returns to normal over the next few hours.
Due to the location and complexity of the burst it took our operations team longer than expected to locate and repair the pipe, with additional resources called in. Our customer team dealt with a number of calls and social media messages from customers in the area, they also made contact with all customers who are registered on our priority services register and bottled water was supplied to all those on the register.
Work will continue over the next few days to complete the repair and if any customers do contact you for further information please let us know and we will respond with an update.
Please be assured that at all times our team worked very hard to return supply to our customers as quickly as possible and keep them informed throughout.
If you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact us.
Happy New Year and best wishes
Jude
Jude
Judith Huffee
External Communications Consultant
Corporate Communications, Northumbrian Water, Boldon House, Wheatlands Way, Pity Me, DH1 5FA
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