UK water companies face widespread criticism after homes left without running water for fourth day

Water companies have faced a barrage of criticism as many households in London and South-east England faced their fourth day without running water.

Industry regulator Ofwat condemned water companies for failing to do enough to prepare for the freezing weather conditions that recently swept the country and in turn led to burst pipes and leaks.

Chief executive Rachel Fletcher warned water suppliers they would “not hesitate to intervene” in their operations, as thousands of households were forced to turn to bottled water for drinking, flushing toilets and bathing.

Many took to social media to vent their frustrations.

Thames Water, Welsh Water, Affinity Water, South East Water and Southern Water were among those facing criticism.

One Twitter user said in a post addressed to Thames Water: “I start to think that it is more likely to find water in the desert than in London after almost four days without water.”

Many were annoyed at what they deemed to be generic responses from water companies’ communication teams and a lack of a clear timeline as to when water pressure would return to normal.

Another said: “When you have been without running water for four days, message Thames Water and you just get a copy and paste response! Don’t bother with the aid station its an allocation of only 2l pp to keep yourself clean and hydrated.”

Thames Water apologised for the time it was taking to restore water and explained it was working to remove airlocks from pipes in London postcodes including SW12, SW16, SW17 and SW18.

One person tweeted South East Water to say: “How much longer for Crowborough? We’ve made national news and been without water for days now, our business is unable to function properly and had to send staff home. This is not acceptable.”

Many more questioned what they were supposed to do in households with vulnerable family members, including those who said they could not get to bottled water supplies.

Others, who finally saw some water return, questioned why it was coming out from taps in unusual colours, which companies explained was due to “air in the water supply” and said should soon settle.

Affinity Water, South East Water and Southern Water all urged customers to only use water when “essential”.

Ofwat’s Ms Fletcher told water firms: “The ongoing water supply problems affecting the country, most particularly parts of London and the South-east of England, have been deeply distressing for all those affected.

“While the recent severe freeze and thaw have undoubtedly had an impact on pipes and infrastructure, this weather was forecast in advance.

“A number of water companies appear to have fallen well short on their forward planning and the quality of support and communication they’ve been providing, leaving some customers high and dry.”

Ms Fletcher added that while the current priority was supporting all those affected, further action would be taken once the water is flowing once more.

“When the taps are back on, we will take a long, hard look at what has happened here and we won’t hesitate to intervene if we find that companies have not had the right structures and mechanisms in place to be resilient enough,” she added.

Her words come after further criticism for Environment Secretary Michael Gove, who warned water companies that they would face tougher regulation if they did not clean up their act.

Speaking at the Water UK City conference, he said that water companies had not been acting “sufficiently in the public interest” and accused some companies of “playing the system for the benefit of wealthy managers and owners, at the expense of consumers and the environment”.

The Conservative MP added that companies “have shielded themselves from scrutiny” for “too long”.

He said that some firms had “hidden behind complex financial structures, avoided paying taxes, have rewarded the already well-off, kept charges higher than they needed to be and allowed leaks, pollution and other failures to persist for far too long”.

Water companies insisted they were doing all they could to get the water flow back to normal, as they worked to repair burst pipes and leaks as the weather became milder.

Jaguar Land Rover and Cadbury plants in the Midlands were forced to close temporarily due to the problems – but Severn Trent Water said the “situation is now resolved and they are able to use their water as normal”.

A spokesperson for the water company said: “We’re happy to say that the majority of our customers are starting to see their water returning, but some areas may still be experiencing intermittent supply as the network starts to get back to normal.

“We were working with the Jaguar Land Rover site in Solihull and Cadbury’s in Birmingham to reduce the amount of water they used yesterday. This was as a result of an unprecedented number of burst pipes in the area from the recent thaw.”

Forecasters at the Met Office said the UK was likely to be over the worst of the freezing weather that caused the problems.

“The spell of cold weather has certainly come to an end,” said Met Office spokeswoman Nicola Maxey.

Showers are expected to come in overnight and “may turn to snow over the hills”, but in towns and cities across the Midlands and southern England, temperatures are expected to stay between seven and 10 degrees tomorrow.

Additional reporting by Press Association.